It'll Always Be You
by DayDreamer72
Summary: I thought I knew what love meant. I knew firsthand the ugly side of love but I'd never considered opening myself up to it's beauty. I thought I could shove my feelings down into my stomach but that only intensified the feelings of butterflies. I thought I could put other's wants before my needs. I soon learned I knew nothing about life or love. Sucks to be me. FAX. FAX. FAX. FAX.
1. Band Night

"Did you guys miss us?" I yelled into the crowd. I grinned at the uproar I received. I looked back at my band laughing. Iggy raised his hands encouraging them. Gazzy grinned and waved at everyone while Dylan just give his super model smile. I rolled my eyes at Dylan before turning back to the crowd.

"Now for those of you who don't know us, I'm Max. I started this band in middle school with these idiots behind me. The goofball behind the drums is my bud, Iggy." Iggy played a quick beat for the audience.

"This retard right here goes by Gazzy." Gazzy laughed and played some quick notes on his guitar bass letting it slowly fade out.

"This ladies man over here with the guitar is Dylan." Dylan smiled nice and wide. The girls in the front row giggled loudly. I scoffed at Dylan.

Iggy shot up out of his seat and grabbed my mic from me.

"I feel it is my duty to introduce Max. Now, Max is perhaps the most stubborn person you will ever meet in your lifetime. And more. Max is about as good as cooking as she is at being girly. Which means she sucks at both. Epically. Max is also violent, like, REALLY violen-" I slapped Iggy upside the head and snatched the mic from him. He gestured at me as if I proved his point and I pushed him back towards his drums.

I turned back to the crowd.

"Now that _that's_ over…...We are Nevermore" I yelled holding up my hands and making the bird symbol. The crowd screamed back at me. I pointed to Dylan and immediately his fingers flew across his strings. Iggy and Gazzy both jumped in perfectly letting themselves get lost in the music. I closed my eyes to relish the sound and to prepare myself for when I started. I nodded my head to the music slightly swaying.

Then I opened my eyes and all my thoughts faded away.

 **(That's What You Get by Paramore)**

 **No sir, well, I don't wanna be the blame, not anymore**

 **It's your turn, so take a seat**

 **We're settling the final score**

 **And why do we like to hurt so much?**

 **I can't decide, you have made it harder**

 **Just to go on**

 **And why, all the Possibilities**

 **Well, I was wrong**

I hopped to the beat, laughing and clapping.

 **That's what you get**

 **When you let your heart win, whoa**

 **That's what you get**

 **When you let your heart win, whoa**

 **I drowned out all my sense away**

 **With the sound of its beating**

 **And that's what you get**

 **When you let your heart win, whoa**

I walked over to Gazzy and leaned my arm on his shoulder.

 **I wonder, how am I supposed to feel**

 **When you're not here?**

 **'Cause I burned every bridge I ever built**

 **When you were here**

 **I still try holding onto silly things**

 **I never learn**

 **Oh why, all the possibilities**

 **I'm sure you've heard**

 **That's what you get**

 **When you let your heart win, whoa**

 **That's what you get**

 **When you let your heart win, whoa**

 **I drowned out all my sense away**

 **With the sound of its beating**

 **And that's what you get**

 **When you let your heart win, whoa**

I slowly walked to center stage, closing my eyes.

 **Pain, make your way to me, to me**

 **And I'll always be just so inviting**

 **If I ever start to think straight**

 **This heart, will start a riot in me**

 **Let's start, start, hey!**

 **Why do we like to hurt so much?**

 **Oh, why do we like to hurt so much?**

Iggy, Dylan, and Sam yelled out the next line while I all but screamed the one after.

 **That's what you get when you let your heart win**

 **Whoa!**

 **That's what you get**

 **When you let your heart win, whoa**

 **That's what you get**

 **When you let your heart win, whoa**

 **Now I can't trust myself**

 **With anything like this**

 **And that's what you get**

 **When you let your heart win, whoa**

 **(End of song)**

The crowd roared and I laughed, high fiving Gazzy. I took a bow still laughing then gestured to my band. Iggy was standing on his seat and pointing at the crowd and nodding his head at them like a doofus. Dylan was still smiling at the girls.

Well, okay then.

"The next song we're gonna do is called 4ever."

( **4ever by The Veronicas (AN: Let's just pretend there's only one chick singing.))**

 **Here we are so what you gonna do?**

 **Do I gotta spell it out for you?**

 **I can see that you got other plans for tonight**

 **But I don't really care**

 **Size me up you know I beat the best**

 **Tick tock no time to rest**

 **Let them say what their gonna say**

 **But tonight I just don't really care**

I walked to the front and leaned down singing to them before hopping up and spinning.

 **Come on baby we ain't gonna live 4ever**

 **Let me show you all the things that we could do**

 **You know you wanna be together**

 **And I wanna spend the night with you**

 **Yeah, yeah with you, yeah, yeah**

 **Come with me tonight**

 **We could make the night last 4ever**

 **I've seen it all I've got nothing to prove**

 **Come on baby just make your move**

 **Follow me lets leave it all behind tonight**

 **Like we just don't care**

 **Let me take you on the ride of your life**

 **That's what I said alright**

 **They can say what they wanna say**

 **Cause tonight I just don't even care**

 **Come on baby we ain't gonna live 4ever**

 **Let me show you all the things that we could do**

 **You know you wanna be together**

 **And I wanna spend the night with you**

 **Yeah, yeah with you yeah, yeah**

 **Come with me tonight**

 **We could make the night last 4ever**

 **Lets pretend you're mine**

 **We could just pretend, we could just pretend, yeah yeah**

 **You got what I like**

 **You got what I like, I got what you like**

 **Oh come on**

 **Just one taste and you'll want more**

 **So tell me what you're waiting for**

 **Come on baby we ain't gonna live 4ever**

 **Let me show you all the things that we could do**

 **You know you wanna be together**

 **And I wanna spend the night with you**

 **Yeah, yeah, with you, yeah, yeah**

 **So come with me tonight**

 **We could make the night last 4ever**

 **Come on baby we ain't gonna live 4ever**

 **Let me show you all the things that we could do**

 **You know you wanna be together**

 **And I wanna spend the night with you**

 **Yeah, yeah with you, yeah, yeah**

 **Come with me tonight**

 **We could make the night last 4ever**

 **(End)**

"Alright, now we've got time for just one more song. Hmmm…...you know what, maybe not. I'm feeling kind of tired actually. What do you think Iggy?" I asked smiling. The crowd booed loudly.

"You do look kinda tired, Max. Maybe you should stop." Iggy offered.

"I feel like we should do one more though…." Gazzy said dejectedly. I could barely hide my smile for any longer.

"So, I guess it's a good thing that Iggy here has a song for you guys. " I said smiling big and wide.

The crowd erupted once more. I grinned and tossed the mic to Iggy before taking my place at the drums.

"Hit it, Max!" Iggy yelled pointing at me. I started the song off with a steady beat, bobbing my head. Iggy turned to point at Gazzy and Gazzy's fingers instantly danced across his bass joining my beat. Iggy pointed at Dylan and blondie jumped into the mix, completing us. Iggy brought the mic to his lips.

 **(Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis)**

 **OWWWWWW!**

The rest of us sang along with him.

 **Duh duh duh da da da duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh na**

 **Duh duh duh da da da duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh na**

 **Do do do duh duh do duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh new**

 **Do do do duh duh do duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh new**

 **Why you must be a girl with shoes like that**

 **You said you know me well**

 **I see you and little Steven and Joanna**

 **Round the back of my hotel, oh yeah**

 **Someone said you were asking after me**

 **but I knew you best as a blagger**

 **I said tell me your name is it sweet?**

 **She said my boy it's Dagger, oh yeah**

He dusted off imaginary dust off his shoulders.

 **I was good she was hot stealing everything she got**

 **I was bold and she was over the worst of it**

 **Gave me gear thank you dear**

 **Bring your sister over here**

 **Let her dance with me just for the hell of it**

Gaz, Dylan, and I yelled it out for him.

 **Duh duh duh da da da duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh na**

 **Duh duh duh da da da duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh na**

 **Do do do duh duh do duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh new**

 **Do do do duh duh do duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh new**

 **Why you must be a boy with bones like that**

 **She said you got me wrong**

 **I would've sold them to you**

 **If I could have just kept the last of my clothes on, oh yeah**

He waggled his eyebrows at the crowd and some of them laughed.

 **Call me up, take me down**

 **With you when you go**

 **I could be your regular belle**

 **I'll also dance for little Steven and Joanna**

 **Round the back of my hotel oh yeah**

 **I was good she was hot stealing everything she got**

 **I was bold and she was over the worst of it**

 **Gave me gear thank you dear**

 **Bring your sister over here**

 **Let her dance with me just for the hell of it**

He nodded his head to the music and clapped out a beat before singing the next lines.

 **Chelsea, Chelsea I believe**

 **That when you're dancing slowly**

 **sucking your sleeve**

 **The boys get lonely after you leave**

 **Its one for the dagger**

 **and another for the one you believe**

 **Chelsea, I believe**

 **That when you're dancing slowly**

 **Sucking your sleeve**

 **The boys get lonely after you leave**

 **Its one for the dagger**

 **And another for the one you believe**

We helped him sing the ending of the song.

 **Duh duh duh da da da duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh na**

 **Duh duh duh da da da duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh na**

 **Do do do duh duh do duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh new**

 **Do do do duh duh do duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh new**

( **End of Song)**

Iggy was grinning widely by the end of his song and fist pumped. He whooped and leaned down to slap high fives with some people and he bowed. I rolled my eyes at his antics.

"Now, unfortunately our gig is ending now but catch us next week at the Summer Festival! We will be performing and have an entire hour of showtime. Yes, you will get to look at _this_ beautiful face for a FULL hour. These lovely ladies over here are handing out flyers giving you info on when and where if you don't already know. Nudge, Alex, Brigid make yourselves known." They stood up on their seat waving the flyers around. I saw some people get up and head over and I felt my heart leap.

I grabbed the mic from him and looked out into the crowd.

"Now we _really_ would love it if every single one of you could come out and support us. It's about to be senior year for us and it's our last year to get noticed. Tell or email all your friends, post it online, like our page on facebook, visit our youtube channel and make sure to rape that like button. Honestly, anything that would help would be greatly appreciated. "

"Thanks for coming out guys!" Gazzy yelled coming to stand to my left a little ways behind me, Dylan doing the same to Iggy. We ended each of our gigs like this every time. Ig and I stood in front side by side with Dylan on my left and Gazzy on Iggy's right both two steps behind us.

This is the cool part.

We all lift our hands and make the bird symbol. That's the cue. Then the main lights shut off and a spotlight shines in the middle of the curtains behind us. The cool thing about this spotlight is that it's not just like any other spotlight. Instead of just shining a light like it normally would we always tape a shirt over it with the outline of a bird in flight. That's our symbol.

"NEVERMORE" Then the lights go out and it's all over.

Well, at least until next time.

We all hopped off the stage and walked through the crowd greeting people on the way. I slapped high fives with some friends from school before someone grabbed my arm. I stopped and was pulled into a hug by my friend, Brigid. She pulled back laughing and I saw an arm slink around her waist, pulling her into a broad chest. She looked up at me, her blue-green eyes sparkling.

"Max, you guys were so good!" She smiled. I smiled back and looked up at her, ahem, friend. And I hesitate on the "friend" part because I don't grind on Iggy or Gazzy.

I nodded at him. "Sam. How have you been?"

"Better now." He grinned at me.

"I didn't know you guys were...ya know. " I said awkwardly. Brigid smiled up at him but Sam pulled away slightly.

"Oh, we're not. Brigid just wanted to dance. " Sam said quickly. I glanced at Brigid. Her smile was definitely gone now.

Aw, shit.

"Hey, you guys did really good tonight. You looked great up there." Sam flashed me a smile. I shifted uncomfortably at his stare. I looked again at Brigid. She avoided my gaze. Oh, not again. I need to get out of this.

"Thanks. I'll see you guys later." I went to turn but Sam grabbed my wrist.

"Hey, let me know if you need a ride or anything okay? I'm glad to help." God, stop looking at me! I tugged my wrist away from him a little roughly and walked away.

"I think I'll pass." I threw over my shoulder. I walked away estimating the damage. I sighed. Why does she always pick a guy who ended up fancying me? I mentally added him to the list. Sam, I think makes up four. That girl needs help on how to pick a guy.

Brigid and I were pretty close. I mean we weren't best friends. Nudge, JJ, Angel, and Alex would be more my best friends but Brigid and I had this odd connection going for us. Brigid has this (semi-annoying) tendency to overdo things and to be the best at everything she could. That drive and determination was often accompanied by her extreme attitude. That attitude steered people away from her. Including our friends.

That's where I sort of came in.

I guess I was the one she listened to and I was always the one to calm her down and keep her steady. I reasoned with our friends and told when to apologize. She also asked me for a lot of advice with guys to since she was sort of hopeless in that factor. And sometimes I get carried away and she's there to snap me out of it. I mean, I guess anyone could do that for me, but she has that tone like a mom that makes it work better. Eh.

I finally made it to the back corner where we all usually hung out. They all cheered when they saw me coming. We greeted each other with smiles and high fives, all of us laughing.

"You guys were so good!" Nudge exclaimed. She gave me a one armed hug squeezing me tightly. I smiled big at her.

I walked over to Alex and gave her a big bear hug. She gripped me back, knowing what was coming.

"Thank you so much, Alex! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I squeezed her tighter even lifting her off the ground a little. Alex grinned at me.

"Max, put me down!" She laughed.

Alex had the band's eternal love and thanks. She was walking to the bus stop after visiting this new music store she found on the other side of town. She was walking past a shabby looking store when she felt it: vibrations. But not just any vibrations. _Music_ vibrations. Being the curious person she is, she followed it around the store to set of stairs leading down. Now, this is where most sane people turn around and walk away. But not our Alex. She could hear what song was playing and it was one of her favorites by Evanescence. So she determinedly pulled her beanie down over her head and slowly descended, hands on either side of the walls. It wasn't very long until the tunnel swerved right and an ultraviolet light lit up a curtain with splatters over it surrounding the big letters MD. Alex could hear the music clearly and she pushed the curtain aside and ducked in. And what she found was incredible.

It was an underground club called Music Density. Bands played their all the time. It was a real popular thing but it had evaded our side of the town's attention. It was a decent size and even had a bar. Older people sometimes came for drinks but the place was mostly filled with high schoolers. They had band night every Friday and Saturday. Alex talked to the owner of the shop, Ratchet, told him how awesome our band was and he totally hooked us up.

We performed for the first time the following Friday with Alex as our manager.

And they _loved_ us.

We've performed there almost every Friday since the beginning of our sophomore year. People from both sides of town come to see us play. We've been playing here for over a year and they still can't get enough of us.

Alex is the whole reason we might have an actual chance at making it big.

Therefore, if anyone messes with her we will pulverize them until nothing more exists of them.

At all. _Nada._

"You don't have to keep thanking me. I know, I'm awesome." Alex smiled.

'Yeah, whatever short stuff." Isaac teased draping his arm around her shoulders. Alex elbowed him playfully.

"Hey, Max you're coming to my sleepover tomorrow right?" Nudge asked. My face fell. Oops.

"I forgot to tell my mom…." I trailed off. Nudge looked at me, face blank.

"You forgot to tell your mom about this sleepover that I've been talking about for a month? You forgot to tell your mom when I've called, reminded, texted you every other day? I can't believe you Max! Sometimes you forget stuff just as often as I forget to breath between my sentences. I mean, really Max?! REALLY?! You remind me of Lennie in Of Mice and Men. He can never remember _anything_ that George says! ZOMG it was so sad how Lennie died! I know what Lennie did was bad, but come on! ZOMG I thought it was so funny how Curley's wife died! She was all 'Don't muss it up' and she's dying and stuff LMAO. I'm totes going to hell for laughing at that. ZOMG, I hope I'm an angel even though I totes look fat in white mphfnddu iohhiado!" Iggy covered her mouth with his hand, halting her assault of words.

I blinked. I will never in my life get used to that.

"Give me your phone, Max." Nudge ordered. I warily unzipped the pocket to my leather jacket. I slowly handed it over before quickly retreating behind Gazzy. Nudge might not seem like she couldn't do any harm but those nails could do some _serious_ damage.

Nudge typed something out on my phone before pressing it to her ear. She held up her finger signaling me to wait. I grumbled from behind Gazzy.

"Hi, ! This is Nudge. Yeah, I was just calling to tell you about my sleepover tomorrow. Yes, I'm having a sleepover tomorrow. Well, actually it's not short notice. This has been set up for about a month. Yeah, that's why I was calling. Max has the memory of a goldfish, _I_ _KNOW._ I really wanted her to be there since she bailed on the last one. Yeah? Great! You're the best! Thanks so much! Yeah, ok. You too. Bye!" Nudge handed me my phone back, smiling.

"So….I guess I'm going?" I asked. She nodded. Whoopee.

"Hey, where is everyone?" Gazzy questioned.

"Matt, Tyler, and Jacob are all at Tyler's playing that new video game that just came out. Becca's babysitting you know so she can afford to buy that new book that's coming out next week. The one she's been talking about all year since she read the last one! Oh, Tess is helping JJ with her Algebra homework and Isabelle's out with Angel buying new contacts. Isabelle just found these new silver looking contacts at this cool shop next town over. So yeah. I think that's it." Nudge answered. I looked at her and slowly nodded.

I'm just gonna pretend I got all that or else she repeat it, word for word exactly. Another freaky trait she has.

"Who's helping us pack up our things?" I questioned looking at the guys. "I'll help out. " a voice from behind me volunteered. I turned around grinning.

"Ratchet!" I ran up and bear hugged him. He laughed, lifting me up and setting me back down. He ruffled my hair while I playfully smacked his hand away. The guys all greeted him with their guy ways. You know, the fist bumps or the bro hugs? The ones where you slap each other on the back and stuff?

Whatever.

"Did we do good?" I asked him anxiously. All the guys groaned. Even though Ratchet constantly said we were awesome I always worried one day he would lose interest in Nevermore and we'd lose our only chance.

"Max, you guys did awesome. You guys _always_ do awesome. Stop asking me after every time Nevermore performs." Ratchet said. My cheeks heated in embarrassment.

"Sorry." I mumbled. Ratchet grinned at me.

"Do you guys want to get your stuff now?" Isaac asked. I looked around slowly before looking at the guys. They looked at me sheepishly.

"Nah…let's dance!" They all whooped and we all took off towards the dance floor. Another thing you should know about me is that I love to dance. Probably due to my obsession with music. I twirled to the music before moving my hips to the beat. I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist and I turned in their arms to see who the hell it was.

It was Sam.

I pushed him away from me and glared at him. His eyes filled with hurt. I quickly turned away from him and grabbed the first guy I saw alone.

"You don't have a girlfriend do you?" I yelled over the music. He shook his head no and his dark brown hair swished across his forehead. He grabbed my hand and twirled me before pulling me into his chest.

"My names Chris." He smiled at me.

"The names Max." I responded.

"I know. Your band's really good." I grinned at his compliment.

"Thanks. I'm pretty good at dancing too." I smirked at him. He raised his eyebrows at me.

"You'll have to show me then." He pulled me closer to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and his hands gripped my waist.

"Gladly."

* * *

"Is that the last of it?" Iggy asked. The back of Iggy's truck was filled with all of our equipment. He kept all of our sound stuff and whatnot with his drums since it was easiest to keep everything we had to pack with his drums. Most of our practices were at his, mine, or Nudge's house.

"Yeah, I think so." Alex answered. I helped Ratchet and Gazzy lift the last speaker into the back of the van and shut the trunk.

"Thanks for helping Ratchet." I hugged him.

"No problem, kiddo." He teased. I rolled my eyes at him. "I'm like three years younger." I pointed out. He chuckled and ran his hands through his hair. "It's actually four but who who's counting?" he teased.

"Do you guys think that a lot of people will show up to your show? It's next Saturday!" Nudge exclaimed. I felt butterflies erupt in my tummy and swallowed the lump in my throat. I sighed loudly to shake off my nerves. "I hope so." I leaned against the side of the van and nudged Iggy.

"What do you guys think?" I looked to him and then to Gazzy and Dylan. He rubbed his neck and looked slightly down. We were all really nervous but we're trying not to be but we epically sucked at trying not to be nervous. Anyone could tell we were going out of our freaking minds with worry.

"You guys will do awesome." Ratchet assured us. I smiled weakly at him.

"Thanks, Ratchet." Iggy grinned. He nudged me. "We better get going. It's almost midnight."

"Alright. See you guys later!" We hopped in the van and Iggy started the engine, rolling down both our windows.

I turned down the radio and lifted my feet onto the dashboard.

"What happened with Brigid?" Iggy questioned. I groaned and banged my head back against the seat. "That bad?" He chuckled. Brigid and I had a history of, I wouldn't say fights, more like disagreements.

"It's almost impossible to _not_ make her mad." I grumbled. He glanced over at me. "Max is she even worth all this trouble? I think you'd be better off just ditching her." Iggy didn't like Brigid very much. He thinks she's clingy and annoying and does his best to avoid her. It's pretty sad considering she is his step sister.

"I just feel like I owe her." I admitted. He looked over at me sharply. "You don't owe that girl anything, Max."

"I know I don't but I just… I feel like I do." I sighed. Brigid just craves acceptance. She's just one of those people that tries so hard all the time while I found all that work absolutely unnecessary. I mean, how can a person fit all that crap into their brain at one time? They need to chill and take a seat.

"So, what are you planning to do? Give her any guy she wants? Let her take anything she wants that you have? Stop being you because you're _outshining_ her? Some other fucked up bullshit like that? If the world worked like that then this would be an extremely shitty place to live. STOP MAKING THIS A SHITTY PLACE TO LIVE IN MAX!" Iggy hit the side of my head. I yelped and glared at him.

"Did that fix your brain?" he deadpanned. I fumed and punched him in the arm hard. He screamed at me and flailed. "Iggy, you are DRIVING! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! STOP IT!" I screamed at him. I lunged across the middle console and gripped the steering wheel, yanking it right. The van lurched across the road as I grabbed Iggy's lower left thigh and shoved it down. His foot slammed into the brake and we slammed to a halt.

The silence was filled with my heavy pants. My chest heaved and my knuckles were white from gripping the door handle so tightly. All of a sudden Iggy started. Bloody. Laughing. My head slowly turned towards him. My eye twitched and my fingers itched to choke the life out of him.

"You tried to kill me." I seethed. He cackled and looked over at me. "Max, there's no one for miles. We were perfectly fine. I let go of it for like one second before you went Superwoman on me. We were fine you crazy lunatic. Did you learn your lesson now?"

"What lesson?" I frowned. He looked at me like I had grown a second head and turned back onto the road. "That life is extremely valuable so you shouldn't waste your life away to please another human being that isn't you. Especially one that doesn't deserve it."

"I didn't get any of that," I commented. "You're delusional."

Iggy pulled up to my house. "I don't even see why Brigid freaks out all the time about you possibly stealing one of her guys. You don't even date." I gaped at him.

"I do too date!"

He scoffed at me. "Max, dancing and making out with the occasional guy does not equal a relationship."

I glared at him. "I didn't say it was. I'm saying I _do_ date. They just don't work out so I decide not to see them again. What's wrong with that?" Iggy turned in his seat to face me. "Nothing would be wrong with that if you didn't always cut off all ties after the first date. You never let it get any further than that. You, my friend, have emotional issues."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I get it, I'm pathetic."

"Yes you are," he nodded. I smacked him upside the head and he yelped. "Did you want me to lie?" Iggy defended.

I looked at him disbelievingly. He looked at me seriously. His serious face cracked and he started cackling at me. A smile fought its way onto my face and I started laughing with him. We kept laughing until we couldn't breath and both our sides were stabbing with pain. I gasped for air and weakly punched him in the shoulder. He slumped over against the window and I laughed harder.

Slowly our laughter ebbed away and in it's place came a comfortable silence.

"Can you believe it's senior year already, Max?" Iggy asked. I smiled slightly and turned towards him.

"I know, Ig. When we graduate…. everything's gonna change." I said. He looked over at me. I could almost feel his question before he said it.

"Do you think we're gonna make it big?" he asked quietly. I gazed out the window and really thought about it.

"I don't know," I sighed. "But I really hope we do."

He turned in his seat to face me. "I keep thinking if we can't do this then we're all gonna part ways and forget about each other." he admitted. I turned towards him.

My voice softened. "Iggy, you're my best friend. I've known you since you came here as a poor little lost freshmen with no friends. I think it'd be impossible for me to not see or hear from you for more than two days. You've got nothing to worry about." I assured him. I saw his shoulders relax slightly.

"I already knew you couldn't survive without my sexiness." Iggy scoffed. He smiled out the window road, shaking his head slightly.

"And if things work out the way I know you secretly want it to, then we'll be seeing each other until you and Ella suddenly divorce or something." I added grinning. His ears turned red and I thought he might have broken his neck when his head snapped lightning fast to look at me.

"How-yo-I-uh-I didn't-who-I-WHAT?!" he spluttered. I laughed at his face before adding, "What, did you think I'm blind? I've seen you making puppy dog eyes at my sister for the past two years ever since you first met her her freshmen year." He stared at me starstruck.

"You're not mad?" he questioned leaning forward to study my face. I looked at him weirdly and pushed him back.

"Nope. I trust you. But if you do end up breaking her heart I will beat you to a bloody pulp. Understood?" My voice lowered into a threatening tone towards the end of my sentence and I had the pleasure of seeing his adam's apple bob. He nodded quickly.

I smiled cheerfully. "Now that we're on the same page I think I'll be going now." I turned to get out but before I could open the door it locked.

"Since we're on the subject of love lifes I thought we could return to talking about yours." Iggy said imploringly. I groaned and unlocked it right as Iggy locked it again. This went on several times before I gave up, throwing my arms up in frustration.

"What, Iggy?" I said through gritted teeth. There was nothing wrong with my love life. It is not my fault that guys are unappealing. That's _their_ fault. _They're_ the ones that need help.

"Why can't you just open up and make yourself available? I'm sure once guys get past your violent tendencies and awful manners they'll find you bearable." I punched him in the arm. Hard.

He yelped and rubbed his arm.

"That was _almost_ nice of you." I quickly unlocked the door and hopped out. Iggy leaned across the passenger seat to grab my wrist.

"You know, I'm just looking out for what's best for your dumbass right?" He grinned. A smile appeared, despite my best efforts to stop it. He let go.

" I know. Later, loser." I smirked. I walked up to my porch, waving bye. I swiftly unlocked it before stumbling inside. I kicked it shut with my foot.

"You're home late." My mom sat in her favorite reading chair, the lamp on. I glanced at the clock. It read 12:10. I was only ten minutes late.

"I know. I'm sorry. I was out front with Iggy." My mom likes Iggy so I was hoping this would soften her up. I looked at her expression and I internally cheered. Mission accomplished.

"I saw you pull up and it was before midnight so I'll let you off the hook this time." I smiled and leaned down to kiss her goodnight.

"Your father called again." I paused before standing. I smiled thinly at her before saying, "Night, Mom." I stomped up the stairs and into my room. I shut the door and leaned against it. I felt suddenly drained from tonight and barely had enough energy to change into my pajamas. I collapsed onto my bed and cuddled my pillow. I sighed contentedly and let sleep claim me.


	2. Karaoke Night

**So I didn't do this last chapter because I didn't really know how to do it….. I'm just gonna go for it. I wanted to say thanks to the people who reviewed! It really wasn't a lot but getting the email telling me I got a review made me squeal in class! So thanks for making my day! So here's the next chapter and I guess enjoy?**

* * *

 _My hair stuck to the sides of my sweaty neck. I heard the crowd distant roars like a hum in my ears. They began to chant my name Max, Max MAX-_

"MAX!" Gazzy shoved me off my bed. I landed in a tangle of blankets on the floor hard. I groaned and muttered obscenities. Gazzy cackled and slapped high fives with someone. I peeked over the bed and saw Matt chuckling next to him. I scowled before flopping back on the floor and using my blankets as a makeshift pillow. I sighed softly and relaxed.

I heard footsteps coming for me and I hurriedly tried to crawl underneath my bed but felt the bony fingers of Matt grip my ankles and drag me across my bedroom and out the door. I grabbed onto the doorframe and started kicking. I managed a good one at his face and he yelped letting go. Score! I snickered before scrambling away.

"Get her, Gaz!" Matt yelled. I frantically crawled across the floor looking for a weapon but found empty air. I scolded myself mentally. Stupid Max! What is these were zombies and not these retards? You'd _so_ be dead. No redneck Dixon or cop to save your ass. Gazzy grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. He stomped down the stairs as I banged my fists on his back but it didn't stop him.

"LET ME GO!" I yelled. He stopped in the middle of the living room.

"Ok," he said and I realized too late what was about happen. I frantically tried to grab him but just ended up looking like a scrambling idiot. He let go of my legs and I slid face forward off his back and slammed onto the floor in a heap. I heard loud laughter and groaned. I flipped him off from the floor.

I looked up through my tangle of blonde hair at the people in my house. Nudge, Ella, Iggy, Becca, Matt, Tyler, Jacob, Gazzy, and Tess. I sat up and frowned at them.

"How'd you people get in my house?" I questioned looking around.

"Your mom let us in." Tyler answered. I perked up. "She's here?"

"She already left." Ella answered.

I grumbled. How am I gonna eat now?

"Pancakes are in the microwave." I grinned at Ella and practically sprinted into the kitchen. I heated them up and returned to the living room to eat on the floor.

"Why are you people here?" I asked through my mouth full of food. I ignored the grossed out looks from Nudge. I swear, you think that girl would be used to my eating habits by now.

"Max, I don't know if you knew, but there are other ways of eating than stuffing your face." Jacob said dryly. I pointed at him with my fork and jabbed it at him, enunciating every word, "Why. Are. You. Here?"

"We're here because we just love messing with you, Maxie. It's listed as one of our hobbies." The sad thing is that it actually is. I've seen it on their resumes. And the sad thing is that Tyler still got hired. The world we live in these days….

"So…Max, us girls, were thinking that since tonight is my sleepover we could go out today." Nudge offered, looking at the ground. I looked at her suspiciously and took a bite out of my pancake.. She fidgeted slightly.

"What'd you have in mine?" I stared at her chewing. She coughed and looked at Ella for help. Ella quickly looked away. She elbowed Tess but she ever so slowly scooted away. Nudge reluctantly lifted her eyes to meet mine.

"Well, I thought that- maybe you'd- I dunno- maybe want to go…...shopping?" The last word came out as a squeak. I scoffed before hopping up to throw my plate away.

"But, MAX!" Nudge whined and stomped her foot. I looked at her in disbelief.

"Did you just stomp your foot at me?" I demanded.

"Yes, I _did._ You _never_ want to go out with just us girls! You _never_ want to go shopping! You never want to go to the mall or look at cute boys, or god forbid, wear a pair of heels! Gosh, Max!" She threw her hands up and huffed.

"You're going this time! Even if we have to force you!" Nudge threatened. She took a menacing step forward and I slowly backed away….Have her eyes always been that size? Is she turning red… ? Tess, Becca, and Ella stood up and advanced slowly to join Nudge.

Aw, shit.

I turned and bolted up the stairs screaming. They followed, herding behind Nudge and yelling battle cries. I scrambled up the stairs and raced to my room and slammed the door shut just in time for them all to run into it. They all started banging on my door. I laughed in relief and leant against the door.

"Oh, my mom has a key in her office! I'll go get it." My laughter died and the sound of Ella's retreating footsteps. I frantically dashed across my room yanking on a pair of jeans and shoving my feet into converse. I flung open my window and looked down.

 _Gulp._

"I got it! Move over, Nudge!" Ella shouted. I cursed and grabbed my desk chair pinning it under the door knob. Mwuahaha. I heard the key unlock and listened to their futile attempts to open the door. The door wedged open a little.

Shit. Ok, they're stronger than they look. I ran to the window just in time to see the boys leaving.

"Ty! Gaz! Igiots, _HELP ME!_ " I whisper shouted. They casually strolled over taking their sweet time. I growled frustrated.

'What's in it for us?" Matt questioned crossing his arms. I gaped. Is he frickin' serious?! This is no time for bartering! I'm being attacked!

"What do you want?" I gritted through my teeth. The door wedged open a little further.

"I can almost get my hand through! Hurry!" Becca yelled gleefully. I looked around desperately.

"I'll give you my alarm clock. The brand new one I just got. It's yours." My poor alarm clock. Eh, I was probably gonna break it Monday morning anyway. They shouted their approval, slapping high fives before looking up at me.

"What do you need us to do?" Jacob asked.

"Ok, go around-" The door banged open. "GET HER!" They charged.

"CATCH ME!" I launched myself out my window. They yelped and rushed forward with their arms out. I landed with a thump in a tangle of arms and breathed a sigh of relief. That would have been awful if I had fallen. I leaped up and took off running down the street. IT"S STILL NOT SAFE!

I didn't stop running until I reached the park a few blocks down. I collapsed on the grass spread eagle position. I sighed contently at the cool grass and closed my eyes.

Matt, Gaz, and Ty came into view panting and hunched over before flopping down next to me. The air was full of their pants. What a bunch of wimps.

"You guys sound like a bunch of dogs." I smirked.

"Not everyone is on the track team like you, " Matt commented dryly.

I sat up and looked around.

"Where are Iggy and Jacob?" I asked.

"Lost them a block ago. I told them not to eat all those Doritos." Ty laughed. We all laughed and I leaned back on my hands. Silence followed.

"So, what do you guys wanna do?" Matt questioned. We all sat there. Gazzy leapt up and slapped Tyler across the face.

"TAG!" Gazzy yelled. Matt and I hopped up sprinting away laughing.

"OW! What the fuck, Gaz?!" Tyler started chasing after us.

And the rest of the day was spent full or sweat, running, and laughter.

* * *

"Max!" Nudge said exasperated as we filed into the house. I noticed everyone was here except for Brigid. I flopped down on the couch next to Iggy and looked at Nudge.

"Yeah?" It was nearly dark by now so we were at Nudge's for her sleepover. I'd guessed she was over my escape and was just amused. I was right.

But really when am I wrong?

"What pajamas did you bring?" She looked at me excitedly. I wondered how someone could be so excited for pajamas. I rolled my eyes at her.

"The ones you bought me for my birthday. " She had gotten them at Victoria Secret and they were really cute. It was a black three quarter length scoop neck shirt with buttons at the top paired with pink and black plaid pajama shorts. They were adorable and comfy. I loved them and had actually purchased another pair of pajamas from there of similar fashion. I love pajamas. Added with the fact that they made my legs look great and I was sold.

"Go change and come back for Karaoke! Hurry!" She threw my bag at me. I huffed at her before listening. I made my way down the hall and passed an open door. I paused and frowned. This door was usually empty but today it had three open duffel bags on the bed and a wet towel on the floor. I looked in through the doorway curiously but left to the bathroom to change.

Whose stuff was that? Did Nudge tell me someone was staying over? I thought hard. Nope. I can't remember her mentioning anything about it. Hmph. I'll just ask her when I get back out there. I quickly changed then skipped back to the living room.

"Hey, Nudge whose stuff was in the-" I slammed to a halt. There was a guy standing in the front doorway.

An incredibly _hot_ guy. He wore a black t-shirt, faded black jeans and black converse. He had dark hair and beautiful olive colored skin. Gosh, his arms were beautifully tanned. And his eyes were dark and endless, glittering like obsidian. Woah, wait.

HOLD THE _FREAKIN'_ PHONE!

Before I knew it a wide grin had formed on my face and I had launched myself into his arms, my arms wrapping around his neck. His arms snaked around my waist and lifted me off the ground. I laughed loudly and he chuckled.

I pulled back and playfully punched him in the chest.

"What are you doing here, Fangtard?" I couldn't believe he was here! My mind flashed back to a small boy with shaggy hair chasing after me and then to us climbing trees. Fang, a.k.a Nicholas, a.k.a Nick was Nudge's cousin. He used to live here with his folks and we were best friends up until middle school but we fell out of touch because his Dad had gotten this super cool promotion. The catch: his promotion required him moving out of state. His dad was some kind of genetic scientist and while he already made a good amount of money, his new promotion would make him double, even triple if he did exemplary. So within a week after sixth grade had come to an end, Fang's house was all packed up and we had to say good-bye.

 _Flashback_

 _We sat facing each other in my front yard the day he had to leave. I didn't want to let him know how much I was gonna miss him. He was already upset enough as it was. I didnt want to make it worse._

 _I sighed and pulled the grass out, looking down._

" _Max, I promise I'll keep in touch." Fang scooted closer to me. I looked up and gave him a small smile._

" _I know. It's not like you're moving to the moon. You're just moving to Arizona. Not that far. And you can come visit during the summer. You can stay at Nudge's and we'll still get to see each other." I wasn't entirely sure who I was reassuring. But I could tell we both needed to hear it and it felt good to. We wouldn't fall out of touch. We were Max and Fang._

 _He flashed me a smile and my breath caught. Even back then they were pretty rare._

" _We'll be just fine, Maxie." He teased me. I scoffed and pushed him. He pushed back and soon we were both pushing each other_ _ **hard.**_ _We both collapsed onto the grass, laughing. Once our laughter died down we stayed there laying side by side._

" _Fang, honey, it's time to go." We both slowly sat up at the sound of his mother's voice. Fang stood and held out a hand to me. Usually I would slap his hand away or glare at him. But not today._

 _I grasped his hand and he pulled me up. We looked down at our grasped hands. I pulled him into a tight hug and he gripped me back just as tight. I let out a watery laugh._

" _I'll see you soon, Max." Fang promised._

" _See you soon." I sighed sadly. We slipped out of each other's arms and I watched him walk across the street to his house. He hugged Nudge and her parents before climbing into the moving truck with his father. He waved at me through the window and I waved back. I stood until they turned onto another street and drove out of sight. I sighed and sat back down, criss-cross applesauce and began pulling at the grass again._

 _End of Flashback_

We did make an effort to keep in touch and we did a pretty good job of it too until about sophomore year when we both got more involved into school and our social life. I formed a band with Iggy, Gazzy, and Dylan and he joined journalism and the science club over at his school and our texts and phone calls became less frequent until they eventually just stopped altogether. And we didn't see each other that summer either. He took a field trip to this laboratory the first half of summer and Iggy, Gaz, Dylan and I got permission to go to Comic Con and we spent most of the second half summer there. He visited but I was up North and by the time I had made it back, he'd already returned home. After that, we just kept having bad timing. We never really caught each other.

The last time I saw him was freshman year and _that_ Fang and _this_ Fang were, um, very different.

Senior Fang had _definitely_ gone through puberty. He was tall, taller than me and I'm 5'8. He was easily two or three inches taller and his arms were beautifully bronzed and muscled. His voice was deeper and richer making everything he said sound….sexy.

"I'm visiting for the summer like always." He said to me. I beamed back at him.

"I haven't seen you since freshman year! You definitely look….different." I managed. What an understatement. He turned into hotness incarnate. He's bloody gorgeous!

"You too. Where's your baggy t-shirts and braces?" He smirked at me. I internally winced. Oh, my old clueless self.

"Hey, I still wear the t-shirts but not _every_ day. Just once a week." I laughed.

"Are you guys done ignoring us?" Nudge asked smiling widely. I slightly blushed at her comment. I looked at her accusingly.

"Why didn't you tell me he was coming?" I demanded. I would have kept my bloody clothes on! Not that it matters what I'm wearing around him. Why would he care? Why would I care? I _don't_ care.

Just forget it. Erase. Delete. _Obliviate!_ Hehe…..

"I thought I'd surprise you. I mean, like you said, you haven't seen each other in person for like two years now and I thought that it'd be cool to see your face when you see him. ZOMG, it _was_ so worth it! Your face when you saw him and then when you realized who it was! PRICELESS! You know what else is priceless? The Mona Lisa. No offense but I don't get what she's smiling about. What was Leonardo thinking of when he made her? Ooo, he reminds me of Leonardo DiCaprio! He's so sexy! He's still cute even though he's like all old now. Aw, I remember him in Titanic! That movie is _so_ sad! But why didn't they take turns?! JACK COULD HAVE LIVE-mnm mmpf mmnhs!" Nudge struggled furiously against Gazzy. Gazzy sighed in relief and looked at us.

"Do you hear that? It's silence. Sweet, _sweet_ silence. Enjoy it while you can." Gazzy proclaimed dramatically. Nudge slapped his hand away and glared at him.

"Was that necessary?!" Nudge huffed.

"It was Nudge, it really was." Iggy said seriously. I rolled my eyes. He's such an idiot sometimes.

Well, more like all the time.

"So, who's this?" Tyler was looking Fang up and down. I leant up to wrap an arm around Fang's neck and brought him down to my height. He grunted and was forced to lean over.

"Midget," he muttered. I tightened my arm and he slightly choked. That's what he gets. I internally cackled.

"This right here is Nicholas Walker. Well, officially. Yal' can call him Fang because who the heck wants to be called Nicholas?" I told them.

"He's my cousin." Nudge added. Fang ducked from underneath my arm and rested his arm on my shoulder.

"I met Fang in kindergarten right after meeting Nudge and he was my best friend up until the end of elementary. Our beautiful friendship was forced to end because he moved to freaking _Arizona_. Don't you guys remember that guy I hung out with freshmen summer?" I looked at their faces but grunted for the lack of recognition.

"Oh, wait! Fang! Yeah, I do remember. Remember, guys? The scrawny guy!" Angel exclaimed. I grimaced. I wasn't the only one who almost didn't recognize him and I think the only reason I did was because I knew him so well. Well, and the eyes. Dead giveaway. I say Ella and Isabelle whispering and made a mental note to ask her what was going on.

JJ's face burst into a smile. "Oh, yeah! Wow, you must've hit puberty hard. I didn't even recognize you! You're all tan and tall and gorgeous."

Fang laughed dryly. "I definitely went through a growth spurt." he admitted. No kidding.

"Fang, you're just in time for Karaoke! You can finally see Max with her band in person!" Nudge squealed clapping her hands. Fang turned to me with raised eyebrows. I raised mine in return and crossed my arms at him. I dropped my stance and lightly slapped Fang's cheek.

"Prepare to be wowed. Yo, let's go guys." I helped Dylan off the couch on our way to the front of the room. We gathered in a huddle.

"What song do you guys want to do?" I questioned. I tried to hide my unease. This was the first time he was gonna hear me sing live. I hope I don't choke.

"Kiss with a Fist?" Gazzy offered. I looked to Iggy and Dylan for objections but found none. I nodded before saying, "Let's get this over with."

We hopped to our stations. I rocked out to the music before grabbing the mic and bringing it to my lips.

 **(Kiss With a Fist by Florence and the Machine)**

 **You hit me once**

 **I hit you back**

 **You gave a kick**

 **I gave a slap**

 **You smashed a plate**

 **Over my head**

 **Then I set fire to our bed**

 **You hit me once**

 **I hit you back**

 **You gave a kick**

 **I gave a slap**

 **You smashed a plate**

 **Over my head**

 **Then I set fire to our bed**

 **My black eye casts no shadow**

 **Your red eye sees no blame**

 **Your slaps don't stick**

 **Your kicks don't hit**

 **So we remain the same**

 **Blood sticks, sweat drips**

 **Break the lock if it don't fit**

 **A kick in the teeth is good for some**

 **A kiss with a fist is better than none**

 **Whoa a kiss with a fist is better than none**

 **Broke your jaw once before**

 **I spilt your blood upon the floor**

 **You broke my leg in return**

 **So let's sit back and watch the bed burn**

 **Blood sticks sweat drips**

 **Break the lock if it don't fit**

 **A kick in the teeth is good for some**

 **A kiss with a fist is better than none**

 **Whoa a kiss with a fist is better than none**

 **You hit me once**

 **I hit you back**

 **You gave a kick**

 **I gave a slap**

 **You smashed a plate over my head**

 **Then I set fire to our bed**

 **You hit me once**

 **I hit you back**

 **You gave a kick**

 **I gave a slap**

 **You smashed a plate over my head**

 **Then I set fire to our bed**

 **(End of Song)**

He looked slightly impressed but opposed to his usual "no emotion" face I knew we blew his mind away. I sighed in relief but covered it up with a smile. I bowed for him.

"That's right, Fangy. We're the real deal." Iggy said and twirled his drumsticks with his fingers. A flicker of a smile danced across Fang's face. Iggy walked up to him and I unconsciously held my breath. I wasn't sure how my best friend now and my old best friend would react to each other.

Iggy glanced back at me, mischief in his eyes, before beginning to lead Fang out into the backyard. "So, from what I hear, you knew Max back in elementary. That leads me to believe you have _plenty_ of embarrassing stories to share with me. Am I right? I'm right. So, how about…" The back door banged shut behind them. I gaped. I stormed to the door but Jacob intercepted me to throw me over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

"Oh, no you don't. Anything Fang can tell us about you is priceless. And besides murder will get you into prison, Maxie and we can't have that." Jacob dumped me on the couch. I grumbled but quieted at his logic. I don't want to spend my life in prison. Haha, just kidding I'd never _seriously_ hurt Iggy.

I brightened. "Strangling doesn't cause permanent damage." They all stared at me incredulously.

"Max, that can kill people!" Tess cried. I rolled my eyes at their antics.

"I'll let go before he turns blue!" I defended and crossed my arms. They didn't dignify that with a response and wandered off to do who knows what. Ella and Isabelle plopped down on either side of me.

"Hey," I muttered. "What's up?" Ella exchanged looks with Isabelle. Ella turned back to me smiling.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "What?" I didn't like the look of that smile. It looked to… innocent. And my sister is by no means considered innocent.

"So, Fang looks pretty different now. Pretty hot." She waggled her eyebrows at me. I frowned at her. "I guess…" I looked at her weirdly. What was she trying to say? Her eyes darted to Isabelle.

"Pretty dateable." Isabelle added. It all clicked into place.

"Oh no. No no no no no." I shook my head back and forth for emphasis. I looked at both of them and shook my head again.

"Fang and I are just friends. Nothing more. I've known him my whole life. It'd be like dating my brother." Ok, so I was exaggerating just a little but I did not want these two taking over my love life. I already have Nudge, Becca, and Iggy on my ass. Not them too!

I pointed my finger in her face. "Not happening. Stay out of my love life." I warned.

I stood and walked off to make a phone call. I shut myself in the bathroom and dialed Brigid's number. I sat on the toilet and waited for her to answer. She almost didn't.

"Hey," she answered.

"Hey," I sighed. Silence ensued. I waited.

"I'm sorry," she sighed. "I don't know why I always blame you. It's not your fault."

"It's ok." I said even though I wasn't entirely sure I was.

"I just always put myself out there and no one is ever interested. They just use me to get to you or any of the other girls." I'd heard all this before.

"Brigid, you don't need a guy in your life." I said this to her every time we had a conversation like this. Why don't people listen to me?

"I know but I want one. Everyone has someone!" I puzzled at this. This was new.

"What do you mean?"

"Nudge has Gazzy and Ella has Iggy. I know Jacob has a crush on Isabelle and she thinks he's cute so that's bound to happen. JJ's dating that water polo guy Erik! Isaac just asked out that girl he was crushing on in his math class last year and Dylan likes you!" I spluttered at her last comment.

"Dylan does not like me!" I dismissed. She yelled out in frustration and I held the phone away from my ear.

"Yes! He does! He makes doe eyes at you everytime you guys are together or he's around you. He follows you around like a puppy!" she cried.

"Stop using animals to describe this! You didn't even name everyone! And none of your examples were actually dating. That's a major flaw in your 'logic'. That doesn't even work." I rubbed my temples. I think she gave me a headache.

"It shouldn't be this hard." she said in a small voice. I sighed before making a decision.

"Ok. The next guy you like I promise I'll help you win him over."

"Really, Max?!"

I sighed. "Yes." She squealed loudly and I flinched away from the phone.

"Thanks so much, Max! I promise I'll pick good! I'm so excited! Ok, I'm gonna go before you change your mind! Bye, Max!" I hung up the phone.

I stopped to gaze in the mirror on my way out. I really looked at myself in the mirror. I looked for anything that might make me seem more attractive than Brigid. Her hair resembled Dianna Agron's and had natural waves that looked like perfection. My hair was long and almost reached my waist. It was naturally dirty blonde and wavy straight. Brigid barely reached 5'4 and I loomed over her at 5'8. Brigid has a paler complexion and was acne free but I on the other hand was at war with some blackheads. And they were winning!

I frowned at my reflection. I huffed at the mirror and turned to leave but Fang blocked the entrance. I jumped but manage to hold back my yell. I glared up at him and put my hand on my hip. I gestured wildly with my other hand like I was waiting for an explanation. He shrugged which I translated to: because I can. I narrowed my eyes at him: don't do it again. He raised his eyebrows slightly and stepped aside, sweeping his arm and mock bowing at me. I threw my head back and and marched past him. I could feel his silent laughter but chose to ignore it.

I headed back to the living room but Fang gently grabbed my wrist. I looked back questioningly but he nodded over his shoulder. I turned to follow him and he lead me outside onto Nudge's back porch. It was dark outside but neither of us turned on the porch light. We sat on the porch swing facing each other. Are you confused about how we did that?

Fang sat sideways with one leg dangling over the side and the other on the bench bent at the knee. I sat the same way but instead my leg rested sideways on the bench. **(AN: Did that make sense?)**

"What's up?" I asked. He gently rocked us back and forth.

He shrugged. "Wanted to talk alone." I slightly blushed.

"Haven't seen you in ages. When was the last time we even talked?" I couldn't remember.

"Maybe before junior year. Kept missing each other." he answered.

"Didn't we promise each other we'd keep in touch?" I kind of felt disappointed in myself because I didn't do a better job.

"Stop blaming yourself." Fang ordered. I looked at him embarrassed and murmured an apology.

I breathed in deeply before smiling at him. "How have you been, Fang?"

He grinned at me. "Good. Nothing's changed with me. Except my devilishly good looks." I rolled my eyes at him.

"You've definitely made some progress in the looks don't even look dirty anymore!" I teased. He rolled his eyes.

"You're one to talk. You used to fight with your mom every time she tried to get you to take a shower. You were a stinky kid." I laughed at that. That was very much true.

"You didn't tell me your band was that good." I looked at him incredulously. "Yes, I did! You just didn't believe me."

He looked at me. "I've never heard you sing until now." He sounded slightly hurt.

"I was too embarrassed to tell you." I confessed. His eyebrows lifted momentarily. "I'd never make fun of you."

"I know. I didn't even want to start singing seriously until the end of seventh grade. Took me until the beginning of ninth grade to get the guts to open up about it and that was only because Iggy overheard me singing. Idiot told everyone that same day." I grimaced.

"Must've been mad." I snorted at that. Mad was an understatement.

"I was livid. It took four of the guys to hold me down so I couldn't bludgeon his head. I was _so_ embarrassed. But he came to me later that day and apologized for making me mad. He didn't apologize for telling people though because he knew that was the only way people would ever find out unless they overheard me. And he was right. I would have probably kept it to myself. He said that a voice as great as mine deserved to be heard." Fang listened intently his brows slightly furrowed.

"He's a good friend." I immediately wanted to hug him. Most people jumped to conclusions and thought Iggy and I were, gag, _romantically_ involved because of our friendship. We had encountered, too many times, where one of us was asked about a possible or secret relationship. We were both revolted at the idea and people quickly got the message. We were still occasionally asked by strangers and newcomers and I had been anticipating Fang asking as well.

I should have known better.

"I forgot how awesome you are." He pretended to be fake hurt.

"That hurt, Max. That really hurt." I laughed at him and his eyes twinkled. I was startled at how much I'd missed him without realizing it. Fang fit like an old favorite shoe that had been tucked away underneath my bed. Covered in a little dust but gleamed when lightly cleaned. Only one thing ruined my comforting and happy thoughts.

Fang couldn't stay. At the end of the summer he would be going back to Arizona and I'd still be here. The thought quickly dried up my smile. I looked up at him and his gaze lowered to meet mine.

And he knew. Just by looking into my eyes, he knew. He wordlessly slid over to me and I draped both my legs across his lap. I cuddled into his side and said no more. He wrapped his arms around me and leant his head against mine. I didn't want to ask but I had to know.

"How long?" I whispered into his chest. His silence made my heart sink.

"Long enough for the Summer Festival." I closed my eyes at his words and unconsciously clutched his t-shirt.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too." His arms tightened around me.

* * *

 **Hope you guys liked it! I'll update pretty soon, maybe tomorrow, so patience please!**


	3. Sleepover

Nudge's sleepovers were always hectic. We always start the night with karaoke and stupid games. After that we mostly just watch movies and hang out before dozing off. But that's not the hectic part.

The hectic part is the sleeping arrangements. In case you hadn't noticed, there is a lot of us. Just for specific purposes, there are EIGHTEEN OF US.

Nudge is crazy about her sleepovers and insists we all sleep in the same room. That means eighteen bloody people need to fit it one room. We have tried, time and time again, to change her mind but still haven't convinced her. But usually some of us aren't able to make it which makes it slightly less crazy.

Not this time.

After we finished watching How to Train Your Dragon and Jurassic World the arguments began right on cue.

"Scoot over!"

"Get your elbow out of my hip!"

"I'm not saying this again, MOVE YOUR ASS!"

"You don't need three pillows! Give me one you greedy git!"

I rolled my eyes and twisted on the couch to face them. There were two other couches: Becca and Alex shared one, while Nudge and Angel shared the other. The rest were crowded on the floor.

I, however, got a whole couch to myself. I snickered to myself and watched them thrash on the floor.

"Why don't you have to share?" Fang demanded.

I laughed lightly. "I don't mind sharing. The problem is no one wants to share with me." I smiled slyly. He rolled his eyes before standing from his spot between Gazzy and Iggy. He grabbed his pillow before walking over to me.

"Make room." He ordered. I raised an eyebrow at him before sliding back to make room for him. He laid down in front of me and I was swept up in his amazing scent. I inhaled deeply before I could stop myself. I turned bright red and coughed in embarrassment. I cannot believe I just did that. I _so_ hope he didn't notice me do that.

"You ok?" He asked me. My eyes snapped up to his and I tried to stammer out an answer.

"Uh, I, um-" I stuttered.

"She's a shady sleep buddy, dude. One second she wants to cuddle, next second she's kicking you off the couch." Gazzy warned. I glared at him.

"At least my farts don't clear out a house." I retorted. Gazzy looked more pleased than offended by my insult. I grumbled but couldn't help but be relieved that Fang's attention was now diverted.

"I think I can handle her." Fang scoffed. I rolled my eyes.

"You've been warned. More room for us. " Gazzy shrugged before spreading out. Closer to Nudge's couch, I noted.

There are so an unofficial thing. I watched her smile shyly at him and him smile gently back at her. Fang followed my gaze.

"Kind of obvious, aren't they?" He remarked. I nodded in agreement.

"They're still adorable, though." I commented. We watched them a bit longer before settling into sleeping positions. Fang went to face away from me but I grabbed his arm and tugged him to me. I nudged his arm around me and cuddled into his side. I could feel his gaze boring holes into my head.

"I feel like cuddling right now." I whispered. The corners of his mouth twitched. He hesitantly wrapped the other arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. I looked up at him and smiled before cuddling into his chest.

"How long before they're all out?" Fang asked.

"Not long at all. Jake is usually the last to knock out." I answered.

"Talk to me." Fang ordered. I looked up at him confused.

"About what?"

"You."

I looked at him for a second longer than necessary. Eventually I sighed and scooted back to meet his eyes easier.

"My favorite color is blue. My favorite smell is the smell of my mom's cookies in the oven. My mom won't let me have any tattoos but I have five designated spots ready to be decorated as soon as I'm eighteen."

"Where?"

"Both wrists, collar bone, a shoulder blade, and here." I pointed to a spot just above the hem of my pajama pants, my right hip.

He raised his eyebrows at my hip. "Really?"

I nodded. "It's better than my lower back. I'm not trying to get a tramp stamp." **(AN: I apologize to anyone that may have a tattoo there. Not everyone is a tramp.)**

"Any ideas?" he asked.

"Some Harry Potter related, definitely." I wasn't an avid reader, but Tess did manage to get me to read the Harry Potter series.

Best decision I ever made.

I'm a true potterhead and saw the movies all at their midnight showing with our friends. They might not have read the books but we all loved the movies. Emma Watson is absolutely stunning, brilliant, and beautiful. I love them all.

"I can't decide between having 'Always' or 'Until the very end' written on my collarbone.

"Always. Short and sweet."

"Like you?" I teased.

"Yup."

"I think I will go with that one." Alan Rickman did a great job of portraying Severus Snape.

"I think everyone's asleep." Fang said. I rubbed my eyes tiredly.

"I'm next." I yawned. I turned away from Fang and cuddled into the back of the couch.

"Night, Fangtard." I whispered.

"Night Max."

There were only five days left until the Summer Festival.

* * *

"Fang!" I poked his cheek. No response.

Poke.

"Fang."

Poke.

" _Faaannngggggg."_

I went to poke him again but his hand slapped my hand away. I stared affronted at my hand before looking back to him. I slapped the side of his head.

He sat up and glared at me. "What?"

I glared back. "You wouldn't get up! It's almost one! Get _up_!" I grabbed my pillow from right next to him and smacked his face with it.

His eyes narrowed at me. He opened his mouth to say something but before he could Nudge came in through the kitchen.

"We're going to the mall." she said. Fang flopped back down and grunted.

I snorted. "Have fun without us." Nudge grinned slyly before handing me a folded piece of paper. I grabbed it, eyebrows raised. I unfolded it and squealed.

That's right. I, the great Maximum Martinez, squealed. Fang eyes shot open and his eyebrows twitched slightly. I beamed at him and handed the flyer to him. He grabbed it and his eyes shot back to mine.

"That's right. It's their opening day. Bunch of sales and stuff." Nudge commented.

Fang and I turned towards her simultaneously. "Give us five." We scrambled up from the floor and took off upstairs.

I ran across Nudge's room yanking jeans on and throwing a pink/red pocket tank on and shoving my feet in shoes. I sprinted down the hall and into the bathroom where I quickly brushed my teeth, braided my hair sloppily, and swiped some mascara onto my eyelashes. I dabbed on some lipstick, put my lovesick pentagon necklace on and slid a black rubber bracelet with the words, For All Those Sleeping Wake The Fuck Up!, on my right wrist. I sprinted down the stairs and slung my messenger bag over my torso. Fang, Nudge, Gazzy, and Tess were waiting for me.

"Let's go!" I lead the way outside.

* * *

"There it is." It was beautiful.

"Yup." Even Fang thinks so.

We both walked through the open doors. A cute looking employee with broad shoulders and about Fang's height greeted us. His name tag read Eric.

"Hi, welcome to Hot Topic. If you guys need anything just let me know and I'll be glad to help." He smiled. I smiled at him and said thanks. I turned to Fang.

"It's go time baby." I held up my wallet. We slapped high fives and separated.

* * *

Fang and I finally left Hot Topic after an hour or so, carrying our three shared bags. We were headed to the food court to meet up with everyone else.

 _Thank the lord,_ I thought. I'm _starving._ My stomach grumbled loudly and I discreetly peeked up at Fang to see if he heard. He was already smirking at me. I blushed slightly.

"Still have a wicked appetite." He mused. I shrugged, smiling.

"Max! Fang! Over here!" Tess called. We walked on over to them and set our stuff down. They were already eating. I scowled at my grumbling stomach.

"Let's get food before you attack your stomach." Fang grabbed my elbow and pulled me to the food places.

"Wouldn't be the first time!" Iggy called after us. I glowered back at him. He cackled.

"What do you want?" I questioned. I was in the mood for a sandwich.

"Chinese." I scrunched my nose at his answer. I despise Chinese food. The only one who really loved Chinese in our group was Brigid. Everyone else was ok with it. **(AN: No offense to Chinese food lovers. This is a personal preference and nothing more.)**

"You don't like Chinese?" He raised one eyebrow at me. I shook my head exaggeratedly. His lips twitched slightly.

"What do you want? Sandwich?" I looked longingly at Subway. He followed my gaze. I looked back at him. He looked to the Chinese place.

We looked back at each other. "See you back at the table." I walked over to Subway and greeting the lady that would be making my beautiful and tasty sandwich. Within five minutes I was back at our table. I set my food down and hurriedly unwrapped my sandwich. I sank my teeth into it and moaned at the pure deliciousness of it.

"Where's Fang?" Nudge asked.

"He's getting Chinese….." While answering I had simultaneously looked over my shoulder to see if he was almost down. He was already headed back but he wasn't alone.

Brigid was with him. She was smiling and looking up at him. Standing just a little too close and her dainty little hand tossed back loose blonde curls over her shoulder. I could almost hear her laugh echo through my head. I felt dread settle into the bottom of my stomach.

 _No,_ I thought. _Not Fang!_

I turned back and furiously took a bite of my sandwich. I thought back on my promise to help her with the next guy she wanted and almost groaned aloud. I _so_ didn't want Fang involved with her.

I bit the inside of my cheek. THIS IS WHAT I GET FOR TRYING TO BE A GOOD PERSON!

"Hey guys!" Brigid smiled. There was a chorus of 'hellos' and I smiled in greeting, though it came out as more of a grimace. Fang's eyes slightly furrowed. I turned back to my sandwich.

The only empty seats were around me so I slid down the booth to make room for them. They could sit together now. Blech.

Fang sat down next to me and Brigid next to him.

"What did you and Fang get, Max?" Nudge asked me.

"I bought three t-shirts, a ring, necklace, and a two rubber bracelets." I lifted both my wrists. On my right was a black rubber bracelets with the word 'Muggle' on it in yellow and on my left a red rubber bracelet with 'Paramore, If there is a future then we want it now'. I brushed my hair out of the way so they could all see my music notes heart necklace. The girls "ooed and ahhed" at my necklace. I leaned over and snatched a fry from Gazzy's tray and ignored his shouts of protest.

"All in all, pretty good day.'' I grinned.

 _Until Brigid dug her claws into Fang,_ I thought grimly.

"How do you two know each other, Max?" Brigid gestured between us. She leaned into Fang so she could "hear me better" but I think we all know her real reasons for doing so. Her big blue eyes stared into mine innocently.

Too innocently.

I plastered a fake smile on my face.

"Oh, we went to elementary together. He introduced me to Nudge. " I answered, smiling at Nudge.

"Oh, so you guys are really good _friends_?" she asked. Well, OBVIOUSLY or he wouldn't be visiting us every summer! Which I'm pretty sure she was well aware of. I wanted to punch her in the throat.

"Pretty good friends." I narrowed my eyes at her and she flashed me a smile.

She turned to Fang and placed her hand on his forearm. "So, what's it like where you live?"

"Alright. I've got some cool friends there." Fang answered. I saw him glance at me from my peripheral vision.

"Max, come with me to the bathroom?" Brigid asked. I paused before biting into my sandwich and locked eyes with Nudge. I stood up.

"Let's go blondie." I waved for her to hurry. She rushed to catch up with me and we headed across the food court. I knew what was coming. I knew what she was going to ask. I just really didn't want her to.

Just as I had expected as soon as we were out of view of the table she slammed to a halt.

"He's perfect. Him, Max. I want Fang." She smiled brightly at me. I had to convince her that he wasn't right for her. Ugh, why FANG?!

"Brigid, he's only here for the summer. He's leaving soon. I talked to him last night and I think he's only staying for this week. He'll be back home by next week."

Her face fell. "Aw! That sucks. I guess that wouldn't work. I'm not into the whole long distance relationship thing that much." I breathed a small sigh of relief. Sweet Hanalea **(AN: Anybody know that reference? If you do you're awesome!)** , that was close.

She linked her arm through mine. "No use going to the bathroom anymore. I just wanted to ask you about that. You good?"

I smiled a genuine smile. "I'm all good."

At least now I was.

* * *

 **I'm really sorry this took a while! I was just so busy with homework I kept forgetting to update. Next chapter will hopefully be up tomorrow. I'll refrain from promising because I don't want to break my promise! But thanks to the people who reviewed, favorited, or followed my story! I really do appreciate it. You guys make me feel super loved :)**

 **Catch you next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

"Let's get down to business people." I slapped some sheets of music down onto the coffee table. We were all at my house in my basement trying to put together our playlist for the Saturday. It was Monday afternoon and the whole gang was at my house. Whenever our band has something big coming up we always want everybody's opinions. The more the merrier.

And since they were so many of us we always have a barbecue to help us with the process.

We were all sprawled out over the furniture and the floor.

"First order of business: roll call. Who the heck isn't here?" I looked around at all the faces in my living room.

"Looks like everyone is here. Alright next let us refer to Alex for any updates for this Saturday." I gestured to Alex and plopped down on the couch.

"You guys go on at 9:30 but need to be there by seven to check in and make sure all the equipment is up and running. Soundchecks and whatnot. You each get only two free tickets, including me, for anyone you want to bring so that will only get in about ten of you guys. The rest will need to pay. Entrance fee is only five dollars so that's only 50 bucks altogether since ALL of you will be attending in support. Am I right?"

There was a chorus of 'yes' and 'yup'.

"That is all." Alex declared dramatically.

"Next order of business: what songs are we doing? I've had some ideas but I don't know. What do you guys think?" I asked.

"Fan favorites obviously." Iggy said.

"Yeah, That's What You Get is a crowd favorite. Put that one on the list." Gazzy ordered.

"You mean the blank piece of paper?" I asked sarcastically. Dylan rolled his eyes.

"How many songs do we get to do? I'm guessing the most we can do is maybe ten." I looked at Alex for clarification. She nodded.

"I think we should have two new songs. Let's give the people more to love." Iggy joked. I rolled my eyes and scribbled it down.

After much deliberation we finally came up with out set:

That's What You Get **(Paramore)**

Kiss With a Fist **(Florence and the Machine)**

Anklebiters **(Paramore)**

Chelsea Dagger **(The Fratellis)**

Homecoming **(Hey Monday)**

New Song **(Now by Paramore)**

New Song **(Last Hope by Paramore)**

"Let's get writing!" I proclaimed dramatically, jumping up from the couch. I grabbed a new piece of paper and slammed it down onto the coffee table.

* * *

 **30 minutes later….**

I slammed my head against the coffee table.

"No a single one of you has any clue what to write about? Not even a semblance of an idea? Truly nada?!" I groaned.

"I'm too full of meat to think." Jacob groaned. I threw a crumpled piece of paper at him.

"What about a love song? You don't write a lot of those, Max." Brigid offered.

"That's because Max has a face only a mother could love." Iggy grumbled. I shoved him off the couch.

Nudge rolled her eyes. "Let me rephrase. Max, why don't you write a love song that's _happy_."

I scoffed at her. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm emotionally incapable."

"Anything you could write about love itself is something I'd pay to hear." Iggy rolled away from my punch.

"The fans will love it! More than 80% of the music these days is all about love. Get with the flow, Max."

"No."

"Why not?!"

"Some of our songs already talk about love."

JJ rolled her eyes. "Not nicely. That's the point she's trying to make."

I arched an eyebrow. "Well, that's the best I can do."

"We can't force her to write something she doesn't want to. How about a slow song? You don't do those often," Alex offered.

I mulled it over. "I guess I could do that…."

"We can do one new slower song and one upbeat." Gazzy added.

Iggy nodded. "We'll do that."

"I still don't understand why Max can't write about love!" Nudge whined. Matt and Tyler shook their heads at her.

 _Leave it alone,_ Matt mouthed.

 _Back off,_ Tyler furiously shook his head at her.

"Enough about stupid love!" I snapped. Nudge gawked at me. She looked to the girls and jerked her head upstairs before grabbing my arm to tug me up there.

Nudge marched me up the stairs and into my room and held the door open for the rest of the girls. One by one the girls all piled in, arranging themselves comfortably. Tess, Alex, Brigid, and Becca headed straight to my couch and Ella and Isabelle sat in my ottomans while the rest of them flopped onto my bed. Nudge looked at me innocently and patted the spot next to her on the bed.

I awkwardly sat down.

"So, Max. Why the sudden reaction? You fancy anyone?" Nudge giggled. I glared at her.

"Really?"

"Just answer the question."

I rolled my eyes. "No."

"Why not?"

"I haven't found anyone emotionally ready to handle my awesomeness full time." Nudge smacked me upside the head.

"OW!" I rubbed my head and glared at her.

"Why don't you like dating?" JJ asked. I sighed.

"I don't want to get serious with anyone because I'm focused so much on the band."

Silence.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked.

"The band takes up all my free time. If I'm not doing homework, I'm at band practice. If I'm not at band practice, I'm performing. What little time I have left goes to you guys."

"You could date someone from the band!" Brigid said. I laughed at her.

"I'm pretty sure Gazzy and Iggy are called for." Ella and Nudge blushed.

"What about Dylan?"

Cue the stares.

I awkwardly cleared my throat. "No offense, but I don't think so. I know he's your brother and everything but nah."

"I still think you should give him a chance." Brigid sang teasingly. I laughed dryly.

"Is that why you seem to be more interested in flings?" Becca asked.

"That makes me sound slutty! Don't say it like that!" I threw a pillow at her.

"You know what she meant! Answer the poorly phrased question." Angel got all in my face.

"Ok, yeah. It's easier to meet a guy one night and flirt and hang out than it is to try a full time relationship with problems and commitments…..ugh." I fake gagged.

"This might be harder than I thought." Tess declared.

"Well, this has been fun. Trust me, it really has, but I think I'm just gonna-" I ran out of the room.

I ran to the downstairs bathroom and jumped out the window. I quickly shut it and dropped to the floor in a heap.

Phew. I closed my eyes contentedly.

Someone kicked my foot. My eyes flew open and I sat up like a board.

Fang stood over me, eyebrows raised and a phone pressed to his ear.

"Later, mom. You too." He hung up and slipped his phone back into his pocket. He looked at me imploringly.

I sighed. "My love life is none of their concern."

He sat down next to me. Silence ensued.

"You're not gonna ask for details?" I looked at him.

He shook his head. "You'll tell me eventually." I scoffed at his answer. I frowned at the truth in his words.

"I don't know how to write a love song." I sighed. "I have little to no experience so I don't understand how Nudge thought I could write about it."

He thought for a moment. "Write what you know."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Not all love songs are wholly about love. Work with what you know."

I looked at him surprised. That's brilliant! My face split into a wide smile.

"You're smarter than you look, Fangtard," I laughed. He rolled his eyes at me.

In the light of the moment I decided to ask him something that had been nagging at me.

"Do you like my friends? You feel comfortable?" I really wanted him to like them. I didn't know what I'd do if he didn't.

He nodded. "Not sure about Dylan. He rubs me the wrong the way." I frowned.

"How so?"

"I can't tell why yet."

Hmph. "Well, he's alright for a ladies man. He's actually pretty sweet when you get to know him."

He shrugged. We sat in silence after just sitting next to each other.

This is what I'll always love about Fang. We could sit next to each other for hours on end and it would never feel awkward. He made me feel safe and utterly comfortable with myself and while, he never voiced his thoughts on the matter, I know I made him feel the same. There was just something so utterly satisfying about the feeling of peacefulness he could give me.

We sat together in my backyard leaning against the side of my house. But I wanted to know more about him. I hadn't seen him in so long and I didn't really know about his life in Arizona. Sure, I knew things he was doing like the clubs and sports and everything.

But I didn't know any of his friends or life with his parents. I didn't know any of his favorite spots and where he liked to go for his favorite food. All the little stuff that I love to know about a person, I had no idea about for him.

"Tell me about your friends." I ordered. He quirked his eyebrow at my question but answered anyway.

"One of my best friends over there is Holden. Cool guy. Doesn't have much confidence.," he answered.

I frowned. "Is he ugly?"

He chuckled. "No. Just a bit skinny and pale. Takes the blame for stuff because they made him. I met him in detention."

My eyebrows rose in surprise. "You were in detention?" He slightly chuckled.

"Yeah."

"What the heck for? Were you tardy to class because you were helping the librarian carry some books? Were you helping a freshman find their way?" I teased. There was no way Fang got detention from being a bad boy. There was a catch.

"Some teacher was giving a girl a hard time. I said something to him and he didn't like it."

I grinned up at him. "I knew it was something gallant. You're like some dark prince, Fangtard." He looked at me with his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

I gaped. "Fang! Has no one ever made that reference to you?" There was no way that not a single person has said that to him. Fang had all the traits of a prince except where the traditional prince would have light colored hair and eyes, Fang had dark features. I told him so but Fang was still skeptical.

I sighed. You win some you lose some.

I slumped against the wall when I bolted back up with a brilliant idea.

"I just remembered something that Nudge said." I said with a blinding smile. I was so hoping I didn't need to resort to the puppy eyes, but if need be, I would gladly do it. Fang warily looked at me. My smile grew.

"Take me for a ride?"

Fang hesitated. "You're mom ok with it?"

"I can't imagine why not."

Silence.

"Please."

"Ask her."

I grunted in annoyance. I held up a finger and ran inside to find my mom. I charged to her office and barged in.

"Mom, can I go for a ride on Fan's motorcycle with him?" I begged.

"Take a jacket." I smiled victoriously. I ran to my room to grab my my black hoodie and shove my feet in converse.

Fang was standing when I got back. "Let's do this, Fangles."

* * *

Fang swung a leg over and straddled his bike. He slipped a helmet on over his head before handing one to me. I slid mine on before slowly climbing on behind him.

Fang flipped his visor up. "Hold on tight to me."

My hands awkwardly hovered around his waist. Fang revved the engine and I practically leaped onto his back. My arms tightened around him and he flipped his visor down before driving out of his garage.

Nothing felt as incredible than that ride with him. The only moment that could rival this moment was the rush I feel when I'm drunk with the beat and drowning in lyrics, my body sweating with the body heat of everybody's excitement pulsing through my veins.

With the wind in my hair, the blur all around me, and with the comfort of Fang leading me I felt unstoppable. The cold bit at my hands where they clutched the front of Fang's jacket and it was such a delicious contrast with the heat of his back pressed against my chest.

It was too soon when we returned to Nudge's house. After we'd pulled to a stop I shakily climbed off. I carefully slid off my helmet and I smiled at him. He grabbed my helmet and put it to the side along with his.

"I'll walk you back."

I scoffed. "It's across the street." He shrugged.

"I can't stop you." I turned in the direction of my house.

We walked in silence across the street and up my front lawn. We turned and faced each other on my front porch.

I gave him a small smile. "Thanks for today."

The side of his mouth quirked up. "Anytime." I gave him a small wave before heading inside. I gently closed the door behind me and leaned against it. I tried to smother down my growing smile but epically failed.

"Hey, Max." My head snapped up to meet the hard gaze of Dylan.

"Dylan! What are you still doing here?" I blurted out. My smile was definitely gone now.

"I wanted to see you before I went. I wanted to ask you something."

I warily looked at him. "Go on."

"I was wondering if you, um, wanted to go out with me maybe?" Dylan looked down at me. I felt my stomach plummet.

Oh god, I _really_ didn't want to do this.

I tried to prevent my face from grimacing but I'm pretty sure I failed miserably.

"I...Um." I uncomfortably laughed before gulping. The look in his eyes was steadily changing into something that I really didn't want to deal with. His smile wasn't there anymore.

"Look, Dyl I just, I mean, ugh! You know I don't date. It's just…. I don't do it. I'm sorry Dylan." I blurted out. I warily peeked at his expression.

He offered me a weak smile. "Sorry, I should have known better. I get it. I understand _perfectly._ " He reached past me to open the door and I awkwardly stepped out of the way.

"Dylan!" He stopped and turned in the open doorway.

"Yeah?"

I hesitated. "Are we ok?"

He smiled then, but this smile unnerved me. This wasn't how Dylan usually looked at me and that most definitely was not how he smiles at his friends.

"Everything's perfect." The door slammed shut.

I stood there staring at the shut door. I slowly moved to the window and quietly slid aside the curtain. I stared out at his shadow slowly growing smaller and smaller until he disappeared. I leant my head against the window and sighed. Although I was glad I was honest about my feelings and turned him down, I felt odd. I tilted my face up to the moon's pearly glow and tried to contain my growing unease.

What had just happened?


	5. Nevermore Lives ON

I woke up the next day early because we had morning band practice. I had really no idea what to write about but I needed to do something. It was our goal to perfect to hopefully finish at least one song today.

So, today is a very important day.

But I couldn't gather the energy to face it. I sat in my bed staring at the ceiling. The sunlight was streaming in through the curtains and I rolled over in bed to look at it. I let the sun soak into my skin and sighed.

 _I have to get up,_ I thought. I sighed again before sitting up and leaning back on my elbows. I clicked the home button on my phone. It read 8:34.

I flopped back down and attempting to go back to sleep. I squeezed my eyes shut but I wasn't going to sleep anytime soon. I sat up and walked over to the piano in the corner of my room. I sat down and lightly danced my fingers across the keys.

"Get up and face it." I whispered to myself. My bad feeling hadn't gone away, it only had intensified. I didn't want to think about what it could mean. I just wanted to forget about it.

I grabbed my songbook and flipped open to what I was working on last night. I had decided to work on a love song using the advice Fang had given me. It wasn't as hard as I expected so I was hoping to surprise everyone with it soon. I read slowly and hummed to myself under my breath. I actually really liked what I had written. My eyes fluttered shut and my fingers finally found the tune.

 **(The Weekend by Verite)**

You can drive your fast car

Through the village 'til you die

Or you could take another deep breathe swingin'

For the days I could watch you run

Through the white lighted streets

Where the houses stay the same

Where we could drink

'til we'd never remember our names

You can bring me to life

You can bring me to life

So we can hang our noose

Under stars bright

Ready to glow

And we can fall in love for the weekend

We're on the edge baby

Two hearts starting to slow

And we can fall in love for the weekend

Oh….

I let my fingers slowly loose the flow of the song and leaned back contentedly. It wasn't to bad. I scribbled in my book a bit, changing a word here and there. It seemed these days I was constantly trying to perfect everything. I looked down at my song and smiled.

"Nervous?" Fang hovered in the doorway.

I didn't move from my position. "Figured one of you would come sooner or later."

Fang looked around my room before entering. I realized this was the first time he had been in my room since he had been back. It had definitely changed since the last time he'd been in here. I'd pimped it out Max style and it was beautiful. **(AN: Link on my profile! Just subtract the telescope and substitute a small piano and stereo there.)**

Fang walked over and sat down on the bench next to me. I leaned forward and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Stop stressing. You have more time." Fang nudged me. I smiled halfheartedly and laid my head on his shoulder.

Fang lifted his hands and set his fingers on the keys. I heard him breathe in deeply and then he began to play.

My eyes shot open. His fingers danced across the keys with confidence and full of grace. I slowly sat up in disbelief and stared at his hands. Fang let the last key slowly fade out. I turned to him sharply.

"You can play!" I yelled. He flinched from my loud proximity and gave a small nod.

"Oh my gosh, Fang, you're really good. Why haven't you said anything before?!" I asked him.

He shrugged.

I shook his shoulder. "Where did you learn to play?! How long have you been able to do this?! Tell me!" I can't believe I didn't know this about him! Why would he keep this a secret from me?

"Youtube. I learned a little over a year ago." The corners of his mouth twitched. I sat stunned.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I demanded. He raised an eyebrow at me. "Didn't think I was any good." I glared at him before slapping him upside the head.

"You're really good, Fang. You're as good as me." I mentally patted myself on the back for complimenting the both of us. He scoffed at my comment and lightly pushed me.

"Thanks for the high praise. " I grinned up at him.

"So what's wrong?" He asked. My smile faltered.

"I don't know. I feel like something really bad is gonna happen today." His eyebrows furrowed.

"Like what?" he asked.

"I don't know-"

"MAX! Band meeting STAT!" I jumped startled. Fang and I exchanged confused looks before getting up and heading downstairs. I walked downstairs just in time to be yanked back by the arm by Fang. Fang cradled me to his chest and turned his body to shield me. I heard a loud crash and almost swore. This is my goddamn house! I shoved Fang off of me and out of the way before storming into the living room.

"What the hell is going on in here?" I yelled. Iggy was being held back by Matt and Jacob and looked furious. Gazzy was furiously pacing back and forth, glaring at Dylan. Dylan looked mad as all hell and his lip was bleeding. Nudge, Ella, Isabelle, Alex, Tess, and Angel were huddled in the corner looking shocked and a little scared.

"What the hell happened?!" I shouted.

"Why don't you tell her Dylan? Explain to her why you're a fucking asswipe and suck as a human being!" Iggy seethed. I looked at him shocked. I don't think I'd ever seen Iggy this mad before and he looked like he was out to kill anything he could get his hands on.

I turned to Dylan and looked at him expectantly. He wouldn't look at me.

"Spit it out." I barked at him. He turned to meet my eyes.

"I quit. I'm not performing Saturday. I'm done with the band."

I gaped at him. "What?! Dylan, we need you to do this!"

He scoffed at me. "Like you'd need anyone Max." His tone was bitter and I felt my stomach drop. Oh, god he can't be doing this because I didn't say yes.

"Dylan don't act like this. You said you understood why I said no." I said. He can't be doing this over something so petty. He was _fine_ the other day!

"Sure, I did Max. I totally understood why you completely shut me down for no fucking good reason and turn straight into Fang's arms afterwards. Who's the real piece of crap here?" He snarled. I stared at him in disbelief and stormed over to him.

"Stop being an idiot! I didn't even talk to Fang last night after I saw you! Why are you being like this?! We're _friends._ You're not like this! Can we just _talk_ about this, please?! Dyl…" I reached for arm but he jerked away from me.

"Mind your own goddamn business, Max. You don't get to smile at me like that and hang all over me if you don't have feelings for me. You're not an idiot so I'm pretty sure you knew I had feelings for you."

"Dylan, I didn't know! You flirt with everybody! How was I supposed to know that I was different? Just calm down. You don't want to do this. Not after everything we've been through!"

"You obviously don't know what I want. I'm not doing it!" He yelled.

I exploded. "This isn't just my dream! It's all of ours! We _all_ wanted this. How are we going to get noticed? What are we supposed to do now? We perform _in three days_ at 9 and we've been advertising this for _months_ now! We've been practicing non stop! You're gonna let this ruin everything?! I don't date, Dylan, and I thought you got that!" I pleaded desperately. I angrily ran my hands through my hair.

"Oh please Max the only reason I joined this cruddy band in the first place is just so I could get in your pants." He retorted.

I saw red. The next thing I heard was screaming and shouting and I could hear grunts of pain underneath me. I felt arms wrap around my waist and roughly yank me away from the chaos.

"It's not worth it. Stop it, Max." Fang whispered into my ear. I screeched like a mad woman and lunged for Dylan again but Fang continued to hold me back.

"What the heck is going on in here? James Griffiths, YOU STEP AWAY FROM THAT BOY AT ONCE!" My mom yelled. My mom stood like a bat out of hell, eyes livid. Iggy froze and stood from his crouched position over Dylan. All the girls looked as if they had been holding Gazzy back in a joint effort. Iggy's knuckles were bloody and I didn't want to look at Dylan.

"Does anyone want to explain to me what happened here?" My mom seethed.

I shoved Fang off of me and stood alone fighting back tears, looking at the ground.

My mom's eyes quickly assessed the situation.

"Dylan, I think it's time you leave." She pulled him up by his elbows and helped him stand. He didn't look half as bad as I had hoped. But I guess it's a good thing he didn't come out looking like living death or Iggy would be in a whole lot of trouble.

"Are you okay, Max?" My mom asked me.

I pressed my hand to my mouth, fighting back a sobbing breath and shook my head no. I turned from the room and did my best to not sprint to my room.

I slammed the door so hard the wall rattled. I frantically looked around my room for anything and ran over to my stereo. I opened my laptop and clicked onto youtube. I plugged it into my speakers and turned the volume all the way up.

Let's see if music can really drown the heart's sorrows.

I ran to my song book and flipped to a blank page. I started furiously writing, my tears staining the paper. I was so _angry_ and what Dylan had done. He was my _friend._ I trusted him and he went and did this?!

But at the same time, I knew this wasn't Dylan. He wasn't like this usually. I couldn't hate him so I felt this urge to blame myself because I caused him to do this. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't lie to myself and say that I like him. But he did have a point. I did have an inkling of his feelings for me but I underestimated the depth of them. I should have made my feelings about him clear.

 _That doesn't change what he did,_ I furiously shook my head spraying tears. This was our future. Everything was depending on this performance. Music producers were attending, people with connections, people we needed to impress. He couldn't take this from us. I wouldn't let him.

A real friend wouldn't do that. However, I wasn't the best friend to him either.

"Max, honey open up the door." I looked at my door. I rubbed my eyes before opening it.

We stayed like that for a second, one on either side of the door. I had told myself I wouldn't show weakness, that what Dylan had said didn't make a difference, and I wasn't completely horrified and grief stricken that now my biggest dream would die. But I forgot all that as soon as I locked eyes with my mom. My mom's expression showed nothing but compassion and warmth.

"Sweetie, it's not your fault." My eyes prickled with heat and I launched myself into her arms, sobbing. She guided us into the doorway and shut the door with her foot.

We sat on the bed. She gently pulled away and tapped my temple.

"What's going on up there right now?" I gave a watery laugh and looked down.

"Everything would be completely fine if I had said yes. Everything would still be okay. But I didn't. I said no. I ruined everything. I don't even want to go downstairs and see Iggy and Gazzy. I ruined their dreams too. That's not fair to them. It's not their fault I'm incapable of feeling and ruined things for them. This is all _my_ fault." My voice cracked.

"Max, you did the right thing in saying no. From what you friends told me, his intentions were not pure and you shouldn't make it big by compromising yourself. You make it by working hard and not giving in to a guy who is going to help get you there. That's not how things work. Or rather, that's not the right way." She rubbed my back soothingly.

"What did they say?" I asked.

"They said some pretty awful stuff about Dylan." She admitted.

"Anything about me?" I winced at what the answer might be.

"They only thing they were concerned about was if you were okay or not. I had to fight to be the one to talk to you first. " Her eyes sparkled at me and I tried not to sigh in relief.

"Now I only feel a quarter less horrible." I grumbled.

"Tell me, sweets." she said.

"I don't know how we can perform now. Dylan won't do it." I ran my hands through my hair. I felt my eyes watering and quickly wiped my eyes. I can't believe he was doing this. This was our biggest chance of being noticed before we graduate.

This just wasn't fair.

"Everything happens for a reason." She kissed my forehead. I chuckled at her cheesy comment and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Thanks mom," I whispered. She leaned her head against mine. "Anytime."

She stood up and pulled me with her. I wiped my eyes and pinched my cheeks.

"Do I look like I've been crying?" I asked her.

"You look beautiful." She answered. I looked in the mirror and smiled at her.

"I love you," I told her. She smiled back at me and nudged me towards the door.

"Love you too. Now go on down there and talk to your friends. I'll make cookies." I instantly perked up at that and could feel my mouth watering. I nodded frantically in agreement and she laughed. We walked out my room and down the stairs. I hesitated before entering the living room and she gave me a gentle push. I took a deep breath and entered.

"MAX!" Nudge threw herself into my arms. I felt relief flood my body and laughed. They weren't mad at me.

Or at least, Nudge wasn't.

"Oh my god, are you okay? I couldn't believe Dylan said that! How dare he say that to you or anyone?! He is such an ass! I can't believe he's refusing to play today! Oh, but I'm so glad you found out about him now or you could've been signed with him! Imagine if that had happened! You'd be stuck with him forever! Oh, but what are you guys going to do today? You guy's can't not go on! Who's going to take your place?! WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN?! We have to think of something! This can't be the end of Nevermore! It can't be! It can't be that hard to find another guitar player on such short notice! WE CAN DO THIS PEO-mmph mm!" Gazzy slapped his hand over her mouth. He pulled her slightly behind him and stepped up to me.

"Are you okay?" His look was intense. I nodded and gave a small smile. I reluctantly turned away from them and looked over at everyone else on the other side of the room. The girls were huddled together on the couch with Iggy sitting on the armrest. Fang was leaning against the wall next to them.

Iggy's face was unreadable and tilted downward. I gulped nervously.

 _You can do this_ , I thought to myself.

"I'm really sorry, guys. I had no idea Dylan would do this but if I had I would've avoided him or talked to him less. I would have changed _something_." I pressed my hand to my forehead and took a deep breath.

"I might have even said yes to his date." I whispered. Iggy's head snapped up and he crossed the room in three long strides. He crushed me into a hug and I sank into his embrace.

"Don't say that. None of us knew he was scum. I didn't know and I live with the guy. We'll do fine without him. He wasn't the best and we will find someone better. We'll figure something out." Iggy said. I snuggled into his neck and squeezed my eyes shut. I pulled back.

"I can play."

Our heads all swiveled to the wall. Fang stood looking slightly uncomfortable with our scrutinizing looks. My mouth dried and I had to cough several times to get it working again.

"Um, as good as the piano?" I was afraid to hope. After a slight hesitation, he gave a small nod. I almost cried out in relief.

"What can you play? Do you know any songs? Are you a fast learner?" I looked at him anxiously.

He shrugged.

I turned and sprinted up to my room to grab my acoustic guitar. I leaped down the stairs with it in tow and tossed it to him. He caught it with ease and my heart soared.

I sat on the floor in front of him and waved the girls to move off the couch so Fang could sit instead. They situated themselves on the floor around me and I gestured for Fang to sit.

"Play something."

Fang slowly walked over to the couch and sat down. He tested it out and started slightly tuning. Alex and Tess held each of my hands. _Please be good, please be good, please be good,_ I prayed.

And then he began to play.

 **(Young Volcanoes by Fall Out Boy)**

 **( Acoustic Version (obviously))**

 **When Rome's in ruins**

 **We are the lions**

 **Free of the coliseums**

 **In poisoned places**

 **We are anti-venom**

 **We're the beginning of the end**

 **Tonight**

 **The foxes hunt the hounds**

 **It's all over now**

 **Before it has begun**

 **And we've already won**

 **We are wild**

 **We are like young volcanoes**

 **We are wild**

 **Americana exotica**

 **Do you wanna feel a little beautiful baby? Yeah**

 **Come on make it easy**

 **Say I never mattered**

 **Run it up the flagpole**

 **We will teach you**

 **How to make**

 **Boys next door**

 **Out of assholes**

 **Tonight**

 **The foxes hunt the hounds**

 **It's all over now**

 **Before it has begun**

 **And we've already won**

 **We are wild**

 **We are like young volcanoes**

 **We are wild**

 **Americana exotica**

 **Do you wanna feel a little beautiful baby? Yeah**

 **We are wild**

 **We are like young volcanoes**

 **We are wild**

 **Americana exotica**

 **Do you wanna feel a little beautiful baby? Yeah**

 **(End of Song)**

It was dead silent. My mouth had dropped open a long time ago and it hung gaping. Nothing in my life could have prepared me for that.

How could I not know?

He was good! He was better than good, he was fantastic! His voice was naturally sweet and rich and every lyric he sang sounded as if he'd individually given each word tender love and care before sending it to you wrapped like a beautifully wrapped christmas present. He sounded just as good as Patrick Stump singing it.

 _How could I not know?_

"Fang…" I croaked. Alex squeezed my hand. I cleared my throat embarrassedly. I looked to Iggy and Gazzy.

They were already looking at me. Our eyes locked with each other. I looked between them but saw the same thing in both eyes. I nodded slowly and turned back to Fang.

"We've got a lot of work to do. Let's do this Fangles."

* * *

Everybody had left soon after Dylan. They couldn't do much when they realized we needed serious practice, just us as a band. We spent the entire day teaching Fang our songs. We rehearsed like crazy until we had a little more than half of the set sounding like actual songs. By the time we were feeling confident about our progress, the sun had started to set.

Slowly throughout the day, I had started to write a song. Practicing with the guys reminded me that we were still here. We weren't giving up and we weren't going to let Dylan take this from us.

Thus, a song was born.

"Max, how are those two songs coming?" Iggy questioned.

I blinked. "I actually have one done."

"Completely finished?" Gazzy asked.

I ruffled through my notes and leafed through my songbook. "I have some stuff but I wanted to run it by you guys and see if you wanted to help with some of the verse. Chorus is good."

"It's right here." I turned to the scribble I'd written earlier.

"It's called Now. "

 **(Now by Paramore)**

 **Don't try to take this from me**

 **Don't try to take this from me**

 **Now-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow (x2)**

 **Feels like I'm waking from the dead**

 **And everyone's been waitin' on me**

 **'Least now I'll never have to wonder**

 **What it's like to sleep a year away**

 **But were we indestructible?**

 **I thought that we could brave it all (all)**

 **I never thought that what would take me out**

 **Was hiding down below**

 **(Chorus)**

 **Lost the battle, win the war**

 **Bringing my sinking ship back to the shore**

 **Starting over, we'll head back in**

 **There's a time and a place to die but this ain't it**

 **If there's a future, we want it**

 **(Now-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow) (x4)**

 **Don't try to take this from me**

 **Don't try to take this from me**

 **Now-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow (x2)**

 **Wish I could find a crystal ball**

 **For the days I feel completely worthless…..**

"It'd pretty much just repeat the chorus after this verse. It's not done but what do you guys think?"

"It's great, Max." Iggy said seriously.

"Even though Dylan left, we don't stop. We're not through yet. He doesn't get to take this from us." I fixed them all with an intense look.

"We will have a future as a band. We _will_ work something out. I refuse to let it end here."

We weren't going down without a fight.

Gazzy laughed and bumped fists with Iggy. The corner of Fang's mouth quirked up. My heart lifted at the sight.

"And Nevermore lives on." Fang gestured to us with his hand.

I flashed a smile and we delved into the music aspect of it. **(AN: I'm not at all musically inclined so I'm just gonna leave it at that.)** After we completely finished the lyrics and had the general idea on how to do the music we kept practicing until it was almost perfect.

By the time we felt it was ok to stop, it was nearly midnight. We all felt ready to crash so Fang gave his goodbyes before heading across the street to Nudge's. My mom had called Iggy's and Gazzy's moms earlier and told them about Dylan so they had the all clear to sleep over.

Good thing, because we needed a serious talk about the band.

After we had settled their sleeping arrangements in my room we all sat on my bed in silence. The only light glowed from the lamp on my nightstand so I couldn't see a clear view of their facial expressions.

But I didn't need to see them. I decided to voice what we were all thinking.

"Fang's only here for the end of summer." They didn't answer.

"It's fine now, because he'll be here for the performance. But what about after? Dylan left. I've tried calling him all day but he won't answer. I don't think he's coming back." I looked down so my hair acted as a shield. My hands crumpled my sheets, my knuckles turning white.

"This is the year we need to be amazing. We can't be busy searching for a guitarist. And if we _do_ manage to find one, I doubt they'll be as good as Dylan or Fang."

Wordlessly, Iggy slid over next to me and wrapped his arm around me. Gazzy rested his hand on my knee.

"What are we gonna do?" My voice cracked. I covered my mouth with my hands and squeezed my eyes shut. Iggy gently squeezed me.

"I'm so sorry." I cried. Tears leaked out and I covered my face.

"Nobody blames you, Max." Iggy whispered. Gazzy gently pried my hands away from my face and wiped my tears.

I managed a watery smile and looked at my bandmates. I was so grateful to have amazing best friends who were always there for me. Even though, we didn't have Dylan and would have to say goodbye to Fang sooner than we'd like to, we still had each other.

"We'll take it day by day." Gazzy promised.

What else could we do?


	6. It's Showtime

**I apologize for the wait! I'm really sorry guys! I've had this sudden desire to watch Supernatural from the beginning in time for season 11 to come back….So my eyes have basically crusted over. I'm on season 8 so almost done! I decided to just flash forward to the day of the performance. I'm anxious and I just wanted to get there. My timing is all screwed up anyway. Hope you guys don't mind the time jump!**

* * *

"You haven't even thought of what you were gonna wear?!" Ella yelled.

JJ sighed. "You've said that three times now, Ells."

"Well, it's a bit much for even Max." Becca observed.

"Max, if it was any ordinary performance it wouldn't really matter. But this is Nevermore's image. You guys have got to look good." Alex frowned at me.

"I've been a bit preoccupied." I snapped. I really had. We'd spent every waking moment rehearsing and practicing. We'd come so far in only two days and we were beginning to enjoy ourselves while practicing. Mistakes were minimal if not not at all and even the mistakes itself were hard to notice. But even when we had begun to really enjoy how we sounded the last thing we were thinking was about how we looked.

Hence, the current argument.

"It's going to be really hot tonight. I vote crop top." Angel wiggled her eyebrows at me.

I raised my eyebrows. "A crop top? I was already planning to wear shorts."

"Even better." Brigid giggled.

I frowned. "Are you sure it's not too much skin?"

Nudge walked over to my closet and plucked dark denim shorts. Ella scrounged through my shirts before emerging with a black loosely fitted crop top. They walked over and held them out to me.

"Let's see it."

I shrugged before going into the bathroom to change. The shorts hugged my bottom and accentuated the curve of my hips nicely. The tank top showed off my tanned shoulders and the fringe covered the piece of exposed stomach. It was a crop top but it created the illusion of not being one. My long hair almost reached my waist and cascaded down my back acting as a shield to the bit of skin showing back there too. My stomach looked flat, toned, and tan and so did my legs. I envisioned my feet in the classic black and white converse and grinned at myself in the mirror.

Ok, I'll admit it. I looked pretty hot.

I opened the bathroom door and the girls all smiled.

"You look hot, Max!"

"Damn, girl!"

"You are so wearing that tonight."

Tess squinted at me. "I feel like something is missing."

JJ nodded her head. "She's right. I think it's the hair. It needs something."

Isabelle jumped in her seat. "I GOT IT!" She rummaged through the bag at her feet before emerging with dye in her hands.

"Woah, I'm not dying my hair." I backed up.

She rolled her eyes. "Chill, it's temporary. And we don't have to do the whole thing. We can do the tips and some edges."

"What color is it?" Tess asked.

"Ugh, it's blue."

Nudge shook her head. "We need more than one color. Let's do black, blue, and fuschia."

"Fuschia?" I wrinkled my nose.

"It's pink."

"I'm not putting pink in my hair!" I recoiled.

"Don't be a drama queen. It'll look good. I'm gonna go out and get some . Who's coming?" Nudge asked.

"We'll go." Angel, Brigid, Isabelle, and Ella stood to follow Nudge.

"You have the dye?" Isabelle jiggled her bag in response.

"Cool, let's go. We'll be back soon. We still all have to get ready too." Ella said.

The door closed after them. I groaned and rolled over on my bed.

"Cheer up, Max." JJ giggled. JJ BECCA ALEX TESS

I propped myself up on an elbow. "I don't even know what I'm doing anymore."

"I know Dylan leaving was a huge blow to the band but you guys have Fang." Alex smiled sadly at me.

"We all know he's leaving soon." I whispered.

"You guys will get through it. Nevermore is was too good to end now." JJ smiled.

"Things will work out." Becca promised.

"And maybe Dylan leaving was really for the best. I just can't believe he would do this to you guys. We've all known each other for so long…." Tess frowned.

I sighed. "I know."

We sat remembering how it all went down. His betrayal still felt fresh and I swallowed the lump in my throat. I didn't know if he was going to show up tonight and I didn't know how I'd react if he did.

Or if he didn't.

"Well, it's done. He's not coming back."

"Even if he did, I doubt Iggy and Gazzy would let him back in." JJ laughed.

I laughed at that. "They'd probably bludgeon him to a pulp."

Tessa giggled. "I think Gazzy regrets not getting a punch in."

"Well, it's go-" The doorbell echoed throughout the house. I looked at the girls before sliding off my bed and going to answer it. I ran through who might drop by but not even I could guess who was standing on the other side of that door.

"Mr. and Mrs. Ride!" I exclaimed. I hadn't seen them in so long but it was hard to not recognize them. Fang's dad looked like an older cleaner cut shaven version of Fang but his eyes were a warm brown. His mom was a bit paler and shorter but Fang had her eyes and smile. I leaned forward to hug them both before stepping aside to let them in.

"Hello, Max! It's been so long." Mrs. Ride smiled.

"I know! How have you guys been?" I beamed at them. During all the times Fang had visited, his parents never came with him. I guess his Dad could rarely get time off of work and his mom decided to stay with him.

"We've been wonderful. But tell us about you! You've changed so much. You're even more beautiful now." Mr. Ride sat down on the couch and Fang's mom situated herself next to him. He looked to me imploringly. I blushed before sitting down across from them.

"I've been good. Things have been hectic lately but Fang has definitely helped." I smiled dryly.

Mrs. Ride's expression turned grim. "Nicholas told us about that boy in your band."

I looked down. "Fang has been great enough to fill in for him."

She smiled fondly at the thought of her son. "He's always been a nice boy."

"That hasn't changed even after all these years." I smiled to myself.

"I forgot how much I missed him." I whispered. I looked at his parents. "You guys raised a great son. Fang is incredible. Have you heard him sing?"

Surprise flickered over their faces. "Fang can sing?"

"You guys didn't know?! He's incredible! We're not having him sing tonight because we don't want our fans to think his position is permanent but if he can _sing._ He's super talented. You guys really didn't know?"

They looked at each other. "We had no idea." Mrs. Ride frowned.

Fang's dad stood. "We're going out to grab some food for them. We thought we'd surprise you before seeing him." He helped his wife off of the couch before walking to the door.

"It was really nice seeing you, Max. We can't wait to see you perform tonight!" I waved good bye before closing the door behind them.

I glanced at the clock and my stomach lurched in nervousness. It was already 1:30. I turned from the clock and braced myself against the wall. I breathed in deeply and tried to calm the sudden assault of nerves.

 _You got this,_ I thought. _You've done this a dozen times before._

I shakily leaned upright and shook out my nerves.

"I got this. I'm Maximum freakin' Ride." I spun on my heel and determinedly marched up the stairs to my bedroom.

We were going to _kill it_ tonight.

* * *

 **(Fang P.O.V.)**

My fingers flew furiously against the strings. The sounds erupted out into beautiful symphony with the sound of Iggy and Gazzy. The chorus of That's What You Get was almost over and I hadn't made a single mistake. Gazzy was bobbing his head to the beat next to me and Ig was going crazy on the drums.

When it was done we looked at each other and grinned.

"You're better than Dylan." Gazzy whistled.

"I wish you didn't have to leave. You're perfect." Iggy whined.

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning. I shrugged in response.

"Sorry, guys." I didn't want to let on exactly how sorry I was. I really liked these people and easily felt more at home here in less than a week than I did in Arizona for nearly all my life. Sure, I'd made friends over there and they were cool but I didn't feel the bond that I felt here. Max and all her friends were insanely close and they were all so nice and cool.

But above all else I didn't want to upset Max.

She was doing a great job at hiding exactly how panicked she is but we could tell. She was barely keeping it together. I didn't want to think about their conversations behind closed doors about the band. I was more than happy to fill in for the time being and I wish I could stay to become a permanent member.

"She blames herself." Gazzy rubbed his eyes tiredly.

I shook my head. "She shouldn't."

Iggy opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Iggy glanced at us before moving to open it.

My parents stood in the doorway. I stood up surprised to see them.

"What are you guys doing here?" I had told my mom all about Max and the band but they didn't tell me that they were coming down.

My mom rested her hand against my cheek. "You didn't think we'd miss your performance?"

"It's only for tonight." I looked down. She smiled, her eyes twinkling.

"A lot can happen in one night."

My dad looked to the boys. "And you are?"

Iggy stood and moved to shake hands with my dad. "James Griffiths. And this is my friend Zephyr." Gazzy rose and greeted my parents.

My mom looked at the instruments. "Practicing without Max?"

"We didn't want to overwork her voice. Saving it for tonight." Iggy explained.

"We can't wait to hear you tonight. Make us proud, Nicholas." Fang's dad clapped him on the shoulder before exiting with his wife.

"You look like your dad." Gazzy commented. Iggy nodded his head violently.

I'd never performed in front of my parents.. They knew I had a piano and guitar but they'd never heard me play them or sing. It's not that I was hiding it, it just never came up. I bought them both with my own money that I had saved up. I didn't really think about seriously pursuing it but the idea of it intrigued me after Max was becoming more involved with it. The idea of playing music never seemed like a serious option until it became real seeing her have a passion for it.

I breathed out through my nerves and glanced at the clock. Almost three.

"We're leaving at six, right?" Gazzy asked.

"I'm so nervous I could poop myself." Iggy nervously giggled. Gazzy smacked him upside the head.

"NO! ANY SUDDEN MOVEMENTS AND IT COULD COME OUT!" He started to wiggle.

I smirked. "Go to the bathroom, Igiot." Iggy hesitated before taking running to the bathroom.

Gazzy rolled his eyes. "He's got issues." He flopped onto my bed.

I nodded in agreement sitting next to him. I gently played with the strings on the guitar in silence.

"I don't know what we're going to do."

My fingers stilled.

"Losing Dylan was a loss. A serious loss. We started this band together and have stayed together for almost two years. We were used to each other. What we had worked."

My mouth had become dry listening to him. Despite working with the band continuously, discussions about me filling in for the band happened when I wasn't around.

"Then you come like some knight in shining armor. Perfect timing exactly when we needed you. You fit better than Dylan ever did. You're twice as talented as him. Just perfect. But you'll leave too." Gazzy whispered.

"I wish things were different." Gazzy stood from the bed and moved to the door.

"I'll catch you later. I'm going to go get ready. Tell Igs for me." The door slammed shut.

I sat on the bed frozen with the things he said. Max's determined voice rang through my head.

 _I refuse to let it end here._

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

"I wish things were different too."

* * *

I stood in front of the mirror admiring my newly dyed hair. It took a little convincing but Nudge always gets what she wants in the end.

Honestly, I was glad this time. It looked pretty awesome paired with the crop top and shorts. I slipped on my ring, bracelet, and converse. **(AN: I have a link to Max's performance outfit on my profile! Check it out)**

"Everybody ready?" I called out to the girls spread all out my room. There was a chorus of agreement.

"The guys are waiting downstairs. Let's go." We all piled out of the room and down the stairs.

Iggy, Gaz, and Fang stood waiting around the door. I took a deep breath before walking to join them.

"You guys ready?" I asked.

Gazzy let out a deep breath. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Iggy wrapped an arm around Fang's neck. "How 'bout you?"

Fang looked to him then me, a smile on his face. "I'm ready for anything."

Nudge stepped forward with her hands behind her back. "I have something for you guys."

She held out her hands to us. Nestled inside were four identical leather bracelets with red and silver beads along with a silver clasp. **(AN: Horrible description but it's the bracelet Max is wearing in her performance outfit! ↑ )**

"I know you're signature way of ending a performance is the bird symbol so I thought that it'd be cool if you all had matching bracelets that everybody could see." I gingerly picked one up and admired it.

"Thanks, Nudge." I hugged her.

"Gender neutral. I dig it." Iggy grabbed one.

"Amazing and considerate as always." Gazzy gently touched her cheek before taking one. Nudge blushed hard before looking to Fang. He made no move to take one.

"I'm temporary. I don't think I should." He uncomfortably shifted.

I regarded him softly. I took the bracelet from Nudge before walking to stand in front of him.

"We wouldn't be able to do this if it wasn't for you." I whispered softly. I took hold of his hand before clasping the bracelet around his wrist. His eyes held endless thanks. I squeezed his hand in reassurance.

"Let's go guys." Alex held the door open for everybody.

"Time to rock it." Iggy shouted.

* * *

"You guys go on in five." Alex told us. I felt my stomach erupt in butterflies. Although I was sweating from the humidity, goosebumps erupted along my arms. I shook out my nerves and accidently hit Iggy in the stomach. I grimaced at his _oof._

"What are we gonna say when they see Fang?" Gazzy exclaimed.

"We'll tell them what really happened." Iggy winced rubbing his stomach. I sent him an apologetic look.

"We'll say he's no longer in the band due to unfortunate circumstances. Yada yada yada. We'll wing it. I don't think all of them loved us because of his looks."

Well, I hoped they didn't.

"And not all of them will be here for us. New crowd means potential fans. We just have to impress them."

Iggy flipped imaginary hair. "That'll be like, _so,_ easy." Despite my nerves I laughed.

I nervously tugged at my hair before reaching for Iggy and Fang's hands. They linked hands with Gazzy. We huddled together.

"There's no one I'd rather be doing this than with you guys." I looked each of them in the eyes. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

I'd never been this nervous before going on ever. The only moment that rivaled this was the very first time I sang in public. That had been terrifying but this still beat it. I was so nervous about what would happen with Dylan gone, how we'd replace Fang, or even continue on with just the three of us. I was unsure if we would get noticed or if what we were doing was even making a difference.

All I knew was that I had never wanted anything to work out more than right right now. I wanted this with a fiery need. Performing gave me life. The addictive high the crowd gave me, the feeling of sweat coating my skin, and the beat of the music pounding in my ears… And seeing my band members enjoying themselves, us doing what we loved together, fueled me.

"Let's do what we've always done. Let's have fun." I shakily laughed.

Iggy grinned. "Is Miss Martinez giving us permission?" I playfully nudged his shoulder.

"It's time, guys." Alex ran up, eyes wide.

"Let's do this!" I began running through backstage toward the stage. Gazzy howled like a wolf racing ahead me into the dark. He hopped up and down and Iggy howled in answer right behind him.

I laughed and looked behind me to Fang. His eyes met mine in the dark and he smiled. A full smile with all teeth. My smile spread across my face in answer and I turned back to race up the stairs.

Soon we were on stage getting into out position. I stood in front of the mic in complete darkness. I could feel the energy of the crowd as well as my bandmates anticipation. feeding into my excitement.

The stage lit up with our symbol. A bird in flight. The crowd roared in answer and my smile stretched so wide I thought my face would split.

"WE ARE NEVERMORE."

Showtime.

* * *

 **So, here is chapter six! Ideally I'd like to have three chapters up before I have to go back to school. KEY WORD: IDEALLY. I happen to be extremely lazy but I'm trying to get out of that. Or at least, not lazy concerning this story. So please review! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! People have followed and favorited this story so I'm pretty sure people are reading it but only a couple people have reviewed. Thanks to all those people! You're love is greatly appreciated. Getting feedback is definitely eye opening and gives me more motivation to get more chapters done!**

 **Until next time….**


	7. Max, The Love Guru

**Hello again. So I make a huge mistake in here, so Fang's last name is Ride not Walker. The whole thing, when they get married,** _ **then**_ **her name will Max Ride. Can't believe I effed that up. Max, Ella, and her mom are all members of the Martinez family. Please excuse my stupidity. I will try to refrain from making mistakes in the future. I know this is my first fanfic, but come on I can't keep pulling rookie mistakes like that. So yeah, enjoy. I'll be trying to update weekly. Not sure if I will pick a day, but I do want to get a new chapter by each week.**

 ***sigh***

 **Please work with me here. I'm an extremely lazy person, with school and after school shit. I literally, on average, don't get home until around 5:30-6 and still have to clean, eat, shower, and bullshit my way through homework. I honestly have no idea why I decided to do this now. Junior year is quite possibly the worst timing but I needed the stress reliever and the first chapter was just wasting away in my files.**

 **I also spent the entire weekend packing up my house so I totally lost my laptop. Not good. Finally found it.**

 **So, these characters aren't mine even if I wish they were and sadly, none of these songs were written by yours truly.**

 **I apologize for my flakiness with updating. So...enjoy.**

* * *

 **(Make a Move by Icon for Hire)**

 **(Max,** _Fang, Iggy, & Gaz_ **)**

 _Somebody make a move_

 _Somebody make a move_

 _Please Somebody_

I slowly circled the mic stand eyes closed and gently swaying before my part came. I faced the crowd and gripped the mic tight between my hands.

 **Test my reality**

 **Check if there's a weak spot**

 **Clingin' to insanity**

 **In hopes the world will ease up**

 **Try to make it look like it's all somehow getting better**

 **'Cause I know how to play it pretty good against the measure**

 **Everyone started out a little insane**

I shrugged to the lyrics before looking into the crowd at the next lyrics.

 **But we learn pretty quick how to fake it for the game**

 **But some of you never learned to drop the act**

 **So under that skin of yours: a heart attack**

I stomped my foot the the beat before ripping the mic from the stand and surging toward the crowd. I hiked my leg up on a speaker and bobbed up and down along to the music.

 **'Cause everybody's so scared**

 **We don't wanna go there**

 **We don't wanna make a move**

 **We got all our lives to lose**

 **Screaming in the dark while we just play our part out**

 **I play along**

 **Like I don't know what's going on**

I backed away from the speaker slowly and singing into the mic.

 **Somebody make a move**

 **Somebody make a move**

 **Please somebody make a move**

 **We all know**

 **We all know what's going on**

 **And if I had the answers I'd have written them out**

 **So I can tell you what to do and what this thing is about**

 **But all I've ever learned comes second-hand**

 **And I dare not preach what I don't understand**

I walked over to Fang. His fingers were flying over the strings and I couldn't help but smile at the look of concentration of his face. I sang into the side of his face bobbing to the beat, shifting closer to his heat. He flashed me grin and slightly leaned into me.

 **You and I; we share the same disease**

 **Cover up; compromise what we grieve**

 **I've let more than my share of revivals die**

 **This isn't pretty but it's what I am tonight**

I backed away from Fang and back to center stage.

 **'Cause everybody's so scared**

 **We don't wanna go there**

 **We don't wanna make a move**

 **We got all our lives to lose**

 **Screaming in the dark while we just play our part out**

 **I play along**

 **Like I don't know what's going on**

 **Somebody make a move**

 **Somebody make a move**

 **Please somebody make a move**

 **We all know**

 **We all know what's going on**

I walked to the front of the stage. I felt the excitement and warmth of the crowd, in addition to the heat of the night. I glimpsed my friend's faces scattered close together all cheering for me. I grinned at them. I ran my fingers through my long hair, flipping it to the other side

 **Pointing my fingers the problems still linger**

 **They keep getting bigger and I hold the trigger**

 **Running with fire, I live like a liar**

 **Please somebody make a move**

My head tilted back on the last note listening to the combined voices of my bandmates singing before snapping up to sing my next line.

 _Somebody make a move_ **(I'm pointing my fingers)**

 _Somebody make a move_ **(The problems still linger)**

 _Somebody make a move_ **(I'm pointing my fingers)**

 _Somebody_

 **Somebody make a move**

I walked back to the mic stand and closed my eyes in concentration, singing the next lyrics.

 **'Cause everybody's so scared**

 **We don't wanna go there**

 **We don't wanna make a move**

My eyes shot open.

 **Screaming in the dark while we just play our part out**

 **I play along**

I hopped in a circle, arm outstretched dancing to the music. I rocked out to the end of the song, losing myself in what I loved.

 **'Cause everybody's so scared**

 **We don't wanna go there**

 **We don't wanna make a move**

 **We got all our lives to lose**

 **Screaming in the dark while we just play our part out**

 **I'll play along**

 **Like I don't know what's going on**

 **Somebody make a move**

 **Somebody make a move**

 **Please somebody make a move**

 **We all know**

 **We all know what's going on**

 **( 2** **ｘ** **)**

 **(End of Song)**

I laughed, slightly out of breath before looking back at the guys. We were already high on the rush from performing. I heard nothing but the screams of the crowd and I walked back to the mic stand before sliding the mic back into place.

"Nice way to start, eh?" I laughed at the crowd's screams.

"For those of you who don't know us, my name is Max. Don't wear it out." I gave a slight bow in greeting. My smile stretched impossibly bigger at the crowd's insane reaction. I walked over to Gazzy resting an arm on his shoulder.

"The blue eyed cutie on bass is Gazzy. I'll let you draw your own conclusions from the nickname." I smirked at the laughs from the crowd.

"The right lady will love it." He winked in Nudge's direction. I saw her blush heavily all the way from the stage. I laughed before hopping onto the platform to where Iggy was sitting on behind the drums, leaning an arm on his shoulder.

"This freckled stud is Iggy." I smiled down at him.

He sighed dramatically. "I have indeed have been gifted with an abnormal amount." I ruffled his hair playfully before looking to Fang. Iggy squeezed my hand in support.

I jumped down from the platform a few feet from where Fang stood.

"As some of you may have noticed, our usual guitarist, Dylan, is not here tonight. Due to… unfortunate circumstances he has decided to leave Nevermore." I paused to let that sink in. The crowd was quiet, waiting for me to continue. I slowly approached Fang as I talked.

"Luckily, an old friend of mine happens to be extremely talented and offered to fill in for tonight." I rested my hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed.

"So I'd love for all of you to meet Fang." I smiled at him softly, holding the mic out to him for him to say something.

He leaned in and offered a shy smile to the crowd. "I hope I'm doing alright for you guys."

I swear I felt all the girls swoon in response. They screamed his name louder than they did for any of us. Fang's eyes widened in surprise, before shyly rubbing the back of his neck and biting his lip. I felt myself blush along with the rest of the girls and maybe even some of the guys. I cleared my throat before patting his back in support. I walked back to my place eager for another song.

"Now that the introductions are out of the way, I think it's time for a new song." The crowd screamed in response.

"This one was written for all the people out there, who all feel like giving up. Situations are shitty and life sucks sometimes. But the past has passed and we have nothing but the future to look forward to. It's all about right now."

We jumped into Now and the crowd loved every word of it. Afterwards, we followed with fan favorites like Homecoming, Kiss with a Fist, and That's What You Get. I took the drums as Iggy sang Chelsea Dagger. The music pounded everywhere I went, hammering into brain, rewiring it to the sweet sound of lyrics that meant everything to the loud thump of my heart. My body hummed with energy. My skin grew warm with adrenaline, the back of my neck dampening my hair with sweat. I was now incredibly happy with the decision to wear a crop top. What little air there was tickled my lower back and stomach. I was shining with a glow I only ever got from performing and gleamed with sweat from the brightness of the stage lights.

I found myself looking at Fang frequently throughout the night. He and Gazzy were working perfectly together and interacting as if they'd known each other for years, rather than a week. They laughed together through the music, dancing with me, and playing back to back. I'd seen Fang happy, but never so _openly_. I'd seen him smile more on stage, than I had this entire past week. The more songs we played, the more relaxed and at ease he became. He wasn't just concentrating on not messing up, he became confident in his abilities and he dazed me with his intensity and skill. He'd quickly excelled in practice, but he truly came alive under the roars of the crowd. He was feeling the rush we'd quickly become addicted to. Every time I looked over to see him smiling, an answering smile graced my lips.

I'd performed several times before tonight but nothing could surpass this feeling of complete and utter ecstasy. I couldn't think of a single moment in my life where I had been happier than right now up on this stage. I was so happy our fans loved Fang as much as the other members of Nevermore. I didn't realize how nervous I was about the crowd's reaction until they shouted their approval. Because even if Fang wasn't permanent, I still wished he was.

But soon the minutes were slowly winding down on our slot of happiness and we only had room for one more song. We had decided to end with a slower song that held a lot of meaning to leave the our fans craving more. My keyboard was quickly set up and I gingerly sat down before adjusting the mic stand accordingly.

"We've got room for just one more, guys. Hope you all next song is called Last Hope."

 **(Last Hope by Paramore)**

 **I don't even know myself at all**

 **I thought I would be happy by now**

 **The more I try to push it**

 **I realize – gotta let go of control**

 **Gotta let it happen**

 **Gotta let it happen**

 **Gotta let it happen**

 **So let it happen**

 **It's just a spark**

 **But it's enough to keep me going**

 **And when it's dark out, no one's around**

 **It keeps glowing**

My fingers finally came down onto the keys of my keyboard. The music began to pick up.

 **Every night I try my best to dream**

 **Tomorrow makes it better**

 **Then I wake up to the cold reality**

 **And not a thing is changed**

 **But it will happen**

 **Gotta let it happen**

 **Gotta let it happen**

 **Gotta let it happen**

"Come on!"

 **It's just a spark**

 **But it's enough to keep me going**

 **And when it's dark out, no one's around**

 **It keeps glowing**

My eyes drifted to Fang's. Our gazes locked and I found myself singing the next lines to him.

 **It's just a spark**

 **But it's enough to keep me going**

 **And when it's dark out, no one's around**

 **It keeps glowing**

My eyes slid closed onto the next lyrics.

 **And the salt in my wounds isn't burning anymore than it used to**

 **It's not that I don't feel the pain, it's just I'm not afraid of hurting anymore**

 **And the blood in these veins isn't pumping any less than it ever has**

 **And that's the hope I have, the only thing I know that's keeping me alive**

 **Alive**

I stood, ripping the mic from the stand. My body moved to the beat.

 **Gotta let it happen**

 **Gotta let it happen**

 **Gotta let it happen**

 **Gotta let it happen**

The crowd sang along with me.

 **Gotta let it happen**

 **Gotta let it happen**

 **Gotta let it happen**

 **Gotta let it happen**

I sat back behind my keyboard holding out the last note before slamming my hands back down onto the keys.

 **It's just a spark**

 **But it's enough to keep me going**

 **So if I let go of control now, I can be strong**

 **And when it's dark out, no one's around**

 **It keeps glowing**

 **( 2** **ｘ** **)**

 **Ahhh**

 **Ahhh**

 **Ahhh**

 **Ahhh**

 **Ohhh**

 **Ohhh**

 **(End of Song)**

The roar of the crowd was insane. I stood, grabbing the mic. I let out a deep breath before laughing. Gazzy and Fang gently took off their guitars and stood them off to the side before coming to join me up front. Iggy emerged from behind the drums before jumping down from the platform to come stand beside me and we all easily settled into our given positions.

"Tonight… Tonight has been incredible. We wanna thank everybody who came out to support us tonight and we want to say hello to any who will now support us in the future. We love to do this and we love you all for loving us do it." I tossed the mic off to Gazzy who set it on the keyboard.

We stood how we always ended a performance with one small difference. When I looked behind me, it wasn't Dylan's light blue that greeted me. It was Fang's endless obsidian that suddenly captivated me.

I'd never appreciated the beauty of the dark until that moment.

We all lifted our hands above our heads and the bird symbol took flight. My heart soared seeing the crowd mimic our hand gesture. The main lights shut off and our bird shone for the last time of the night.

It was finally over.

* * *

We ducked behind the curtain out of breath and sweaty. We were all still out of breath but laughing through our pants. The ends of my hair were slightly damp from sliding against the sweaty skin of my lower back. I gathered it up and held it so I could air out. I glanced to my bandmates and saw them in similar states of perspiration.

I grabbed some napkins from a table and tossed some to each. I shamelessly wiped the back of my neck, chest, and armpits before tossing it into the nearest trashcan. After we'd all relatively removed all excess sweat we all looked at each other smiles on all our faces.

"Let's go see everyone out there. I'm sure they're dying to talk to us." Gazzy took off presumably to find Nudge in the throng of the crowd, Iggy following closely behind. I turned to Fang and gently nudged his arm with mine.

"Was it everything you'd imagined?" We followed slowly behind.

He hesitated. "That and more. It was… amazing. You do this all the time?" His eyes sought mine for answers.

"This was our first big performance, but this is the jist, yeah. Addicting isn't it?" I laughed.

He breathed out deeply. "Understatement."

I shrugged. "There's not any words that could perfectly describe that feeling. I'm glad you got to experience them yourself. Even if it was only one time."

"Well, I'll never forget it. Thank you." He gripped my wrist and pulled me to a stop.

"Even if it was only once, I'm glad you let me do this." His brow was furrowed as if he was trying to search for the right words to say that would convey his thanks to me. His eyes looked into mine searchingly, as though I was the one who held the answer. My features softened at his frustration. I gently changed his grip so I now held his hand in mine.

"You don't need to thank me. You're the one that saved Nevermore from looking like a bunch of losers. If we hadn't performed tonight, it'd ruin everything. So, thank _you._ " I squeezed his hand reassuringly.

His expression cleared into something I didn't recognize. For once, I couldn't read one my best friend. I tugged his hand gently in mine.

"Are you ok?" My other hand came up to gently cradle the side of his face. His eyes flickered to my hand and back to my eyes. We stood there for a breath, our gazes locked on each other searching for answers we both couldn't find.

He cleared his throat, his hand coming up to slide mine off of his face. He muttered a quick I'm fine before stepping back slightly. He breathed out deeply before gesturing towards the exit.

"We should go find everybody."

"Are you sure you're ok?" I asked unsure.

He chuckled lightly. "All good." He held out his arm for me to go first.

"Lead the way." I looked at him suspiciously before crossing through the gate that separated the crowd from backstage. We merged into the crowd, staying close so we wouldn't get separated. I headed to the last place I had seen them all while I was onstage. I turned to check if Fang was still behind me, but he was gone. I stopped surprised.

"Fang?" I called. I doubted he would hear me through this crowd but I still hesitated before moving on. I pushed my way through to the edge of the crowd so I'd have an easier time navigating my way through. I looked for about a minute before getting frustrated that I couldn't see anything. I was by no means a midget, but most of my friends were. I huffed before sliding my phone out of my back pocket and typing in my passcode.

"Max Martinez?" I turned at the sound of my name. Behind me stood a man who looked to be in his mid-thirties, dressed fairly nicely. Despite the weather, he wore a navy blue buttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the collar elegantly popped, his tie loosely fastened. His shirt was tucked into a new nice looking pair of pants and he donned an expensive looking watch on right wrist.

I didn't recognize him. "That's me. Can I help you with something?"

He smiled at me. "I hope you can. You're lead singer for Nevermore, correct?"

My throat went dry. I tried not to draw my own conclusions based on his attire and persona. I swallowed my nerves and awkwardly coughed through my babbling. "Uh, yes, that is me. Me. Me as in Max. _I'm_ Maximum Martinez. I'm Maximum Martinez. Hi. "

He laughed before holding his hands up to stop me. "Yes, you're Max. I just wanted to make sure."

My words died in my throat and I blushed.

"My name is Tom Parker. I work in the music industry. "

My jaw dropped. I should always trust my hunches. "Oh, w-wow. Um, i-it's a p-pleasure to-to meet you." I stammered.

He folded his arms. "Well, _I_ don't personally work there. My brother does. However, my sibling doesn't particularly take to crowds so I thought I'd come out and check things out for him. He's a busy man, but I think it'd be worth his time to look into you guys. You have proved to be a crowd favorite and have a hell of a lot of stage presence. Are you interested in what I'm saying?"

I frantically nodded my head.

"I think you're really talented kid. You're band is going places and I wanna help get you started. How old are you guys?"

"We're all seventeen." I crossed my fingers hoping it wasn't a problem.

His eyebrows shot up and he whistled. "Pretty young. Even your guitarist?"

"Him too." I held my breath.

"You're guitarist is definitely talented for his age. His name is…?"

"Nick. We all call him Fang, though."

He smiled. "Fang. I like it. I like him. The public will eat him up."

"We like him too." I added lamely. I tried not to cringe at my idiotic reply.

He chuckled at my response. "I don't think the age will be a problem. Talent at that age can't go unnoticed. Nevermore is definitely worth it. Here's my card. Call me after you've discussed things over with your bandmates and parents if need be. If things go as planned, we'll have Nevermore in the studio within the next few months. I'll be in touch." He handed me his card before disappearing into the crowd.

I stood there frozen staring at the small piece of paper in my hand. I took a shaky breath. My eyes slid shut and I slowly slid his card into my back pocket. My fingers weakly punched in my passcode and the next thing my phone was pressed to my ear.

 _Ring. Ring. Ring. Ri-_ "Max, where are you?!" Alex yelled. I couldn't hold it in anymore.

I screamed into the phone.

"MAX! Are you ok? We were all looking for you! We're all by the backstage exit! Ma-"

I hung up and sprinted to where they were at. As soon as I saw them, I started screaming again. They all looked alarmed but I didn't stop screaming or running. I launched myself at Iggy. He caught me barely in his surprise and swung me around with the momentum before setting me down clumsily.

"Woah, there." I ignored him and let out another loud scream of joy and jumped onto Gazzy's back. He oof-ed in surprise and I yelled in triumph and happiness, not entirely sure if was making any sense in the slightest but I was too incredibly happy to care. I quickly slid off before jumping onto Fang. He knew it was coming so his strong arms caught me around the waist, lifting me before setting me back down.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you." I shouted at him. He pulled away from my death grip, his eyes confused. His arms pulled away to where his hands we're only on my waist. His hands touched the bare skin of my waist due to my crop top and the butterflies in my stomach jumped.

"What happened, Max?" I smiled at Fang and everyone else. I pulled away from Fang and stood in front of them all. With a huge smile on my face, I reached into my back pocket and held out the card to them. Gazzy took it, a puzzled expression on his face and everyone leaned to look over his shoulder.

Silence.

I watched the pure shock unfold on everyone's faces. I watched as the realization kicked in and the happiness take over. I stood there alone in front of them with the hugest smile on my face.

They all started shouting and jumping in excitement. Next thing I knew I was being enveloped in so many arms, I lost count. I was lifted into the air and high fived. Everybody was laughing in shock and happiness. What we'd been hoping for, for so long had finally come to pass.

"When?! What happened?!" Alex shook my shoulders.

"I was with Fang and looking for everyone but we got separated. I walked to the edge to get a better view when he found me! _He_ found _me!_ He was asking these questions about us, asked for my name and everything! I told him we were all seventeen, still in high school and he said we were good! He said Nevermore was going places. He really likes Fang! His brother is in the music industry and he said he'd hook us up! His name is Tom Parker and HE WANTS TO PUT US OUT THERE!"

"Did you tell him about Fang not being permanent?" Alex asked.

My smile froze. "No."

"You didn't think that was important?!"

"I didn't remember! I was to awestruck by being approached." I snapped.

"This might change things. He liked the band he saw tonight. You said he liked Fang in particular. What is he gonna say when he finds out Fang isn't a permanent member of the band?"

I spluttered.

Oh my god. What _would_ he say?

Seeing my expression, Isaac came over to sling his arm over my shoulder. "You said he liked Nevermore. Last time I checked there were four members not just Fang. Stop stressing over nothing. He'll love you guys regardless." He flashed Alex a look.

Tyler ruffled my hair. "You should really chill out, Max. You guys are really talented. You'll find someone else if this guy doesn't work out. And if he does have connections like he says he does, he might even be able to hook you guys up with a new guitarist."

I swallowed my anxiety, nearly choking on it. I can't believe it hadn't crossed my mind to mention our band's current… predicament. I angrily ran my hand through my hair and forced a smile. I pushed down the rising self-hate and forced a smile.

"You guys are probably right."

"We always are."

"You may find yourself asking: why have these _incredibly_ handsome, _wonderfully_ intelligent, _outstandingly_ funny, remarkable human beings decided to spend their time with me? Well, we're merciful human beings, and we have taken you under our wing." Jacob smirked before slapping high fives with Tyler and Isaac. I laughed but smacked him lightly on the chest.

"You guys are ridiculous."

"Now may I be the first to ask you to dance? We all know you're dying to be asked." Jacob bowed to me.

I laughed before giving a mock curtsy. "Why I would love to."

He grabbed my hand before leading me into the throng of the crowd. I followed closely behind before we turned to face each other. The others followed behind, pooling into the crowd and dancing too.

"Are we really going to dance or are you going to ask me for love advice?" I yelled over the crowd. My hips slowly found the beat and began to sway.

He shrugged before grabbing my hand to twirl me. "Figure we could to both."

I rolled my eyes. "I already told you what you should do."

Jacob scoffed. "Telling Isabelle that I like her face is not the right way to win her heart."

"The more you deliberate, the more time you have to punk out. Be spontaneous. Sweep her off her feet with a kiss."

"That could be considered sexual assault, if things don't go as I would like them too."

I laughed, tossing my head back. "Well, you could have asked her to dance, instead of me."

He couldn't seem to think of an answer for that.

I couldn't take this anymore. "I'll be the gentle push you need to get the girl. Ready? 1,2,3, GO!" I quickly spun him around and shoved him hard in the direction of Isabelle. He was barely able to slam to a halt before completely trampling over the girls. Ella, Angel, and Isabelle flinched in surprise. Jacob awkwardly shuffled his feet before mumbling something. Angel and Nudge exchanged coy grins to each other and slowly slinked away over to join me.

Isabelle gently took Jacob's hand in hers. Jacob towered over her, but he looked anything other than threatened. He actually resembled a small puppy shot with cupid's arrow.

Nudge mouthed wow at me, Angel giggling.

"Hook, line, and sinker." I held my hand out for a high five and Nudge slapped it.

"Look at you, you love guru." Angel teased.

"When it's not her love life." JJ shimmied over.

I scoffed. "Your guys' opinion of me is _astoundingly_ -"

"Accurate." Ella tapped my nose. I rolled my eyes at them and turned my nose.

"It doesn't take a genius to know you and Nudge have it bad for those igiots." I looked over to Iggy and Gazzy who were doing the robot. Fang stood in the middle of them, and when he would try to get away, they would block him in with loud _**BEEP BEEP**_ s. We laughed and he looked over to us, frustrated.

"I think I'll go save him." Brigid fluffed her hair and strutting over, when she turned around abruptly. She looked to us, temporarily distressed.

"How do I look?"

"Amazing as always, Brigid." Angel smiled. Brigid confidently grinned before resuming her strut.

"She's gonna break a hip." JJ frowned at her slightly excessive...hip swaying? Booty popping? I don't know what the heck she was trying to do with herself.

We all watched as Brigid stopped in front of the boys and say something. Iggy and Gazzy looked to each other before beep beeping away and walking like robots to us.

"He's leaving so I don't understand what she expects to happen." Nudge frowned.

"She doesn't think with her head, that's why." JJ made a face and pointed to her crotch.

"Ew! That's my cousin!" Nudge gagged.

"He's not _her_ cousin." Ella laughed.

"Does Fang even dance?" Angel looked over at them awkwardly.

We all turned to look and I burst out laughing.

Fang stood there, stiff as a board. Brigid was dancing around him, occasionally touching his chest or arms. She tried to get him to dance with her, but he stood there unmoving and face expressionless. But Brigid was persistent and kept dancing around him.

"You have to admire her tenacity." Alex smirked. I laughed with the girls before turning and beginning to dance again. I pushed the thought of Fang and Brigid together to the back of my mind where it couldn't bother me. I wasn't entirely sure why it did bother me, but it seemed easiest. I flashed a smile to Nudge before bonking my hip against hers.

The night was still young. I had every intention of enjoying it.

* * *

 **So, I'll try to get the next chapter in by the end of this week as a present for taking too damn long to update. I wanted to update as quickly as I could so I didn't go back and edit this one so if you spot any big mistakes don't be afraid to yell at me in a review.**

' **Til next time, lovelies.**


	8. This Isn't Goodbye

**Hello, people of the world! I am not dead. I can not begin to tell you how sorry I am. I suck. Honestly, I have no idea if any of you have been wondering when I am gonna update but I used to wait forever for my favorite stories to be updated so please understand the pain I feel that I have done it to my readers. I am a hypocrite and I apologize.**

 **If I'm being entirely honest I forget about this story. I just reread it because I forgot what I even wrote about. I also apologize for all the mistakes because that is just not ok ;( I do not have a beta reader and am trying to find a friend who can help me out but I am struggling. Also I am a senior now and I have less than 30 school days until graduation so it has been a little hectic. That was sarcasm. I'm hella stressed.**

 **But anyways. Here is a new chapter. I really hope you like it.**

* * *

"I call bullshit."

"You don't believe me?"

"Not even a little. I refuse to believe you, perfect prince Fang, did something illegal."

"I have no idea where you got this ridiculous notion that I'm perfect. I'm not."

"You're telling me that you expect me to believe the motorcycle that you have now, you stole?"

"I did."

"Why did you steal it?!"

"Believe it or not, my beauty was once trash. Total junk. I was looking for some parts for one of my science experiments, so I dropped by some junkyard two towns over for some scraps. I saw it half buried under mud and spare parts from other trashed cars. It was pretty rusted up but I could tell it was once a beauty and it could be again. But the guy who ran the place? Total asshole. From the second I walked in, he was glaring at me. He saw me looking towards the pile and around it and just went off on me."

"What did he say?!" I laughed.

"Some trash about our generation and our lack or respect. I only looked around."

"He obviously thought your resting bitch face was you being judgemental." He pushed me over the bed onto the floor.

"Ow!" I sat up in a huff and glared at him through strands of my hair.

"I didn't ask for your opinion."

"Well, I thought I'd offer it anyway." I warily slid back onto the bed and next to Fang. This time I sat facing him, criss cross applesauce, face propped up on my hands.

"So how'd you get it out?"

"The bike?" He asked.

"No, the genie out of the lamp. Of course I'm talking about the bike!"

"After that, I left to go back home. I waited until that Friday night before I snuck out at around midnight to drive all the way back. It was pitch black. He had the whole place gated off and chained so I drove up right in front of the entrance and popped the trunk. I hopped the fence and went for it."

"That easy?"

"No. Turns out the guy lived there."

I rolled over laughing. I choked out through my laughter. "PLEASE tell me he had a bat."

He reluctantly nodded and I burst into a fit of giggles again. "I'd dragged the bike halfway across the dirt, when I heard yelling. I panicked and grabbed the motorcycle to try and carry it but my shirt snagged on all the rust and the handle sliced my stomach." He lifted the bottom of his t-shirt and showed me a scar about as long as my index finger right above his left hipbone.

"He came swinging around the corner right as I was breaking the chain open. I'd tugged the chain free and was hauling the motorcycle into the trunk when he swung at me. I managed to duck, so he hit the car instead. He got in one more swing before I peeled out of there."

"How do your parents not know?!"

"He was so wasted, he barely left a dent. I doubt he remembers what happened or would be able to tell what I took. If he had been sober, I'd likely have a criminal record."

"Thank god for alcohol." He chuckled as I laughed.

"Can I see your scar again?" He nodded before lifting his shirt. The scar sliced diagonally above his hip. The skin was slightly puckered and looked like it was deep. I gingerly reached out to gently touch the skin. My fingertips brushed his scar and goosebumps erupted over his stomach. I snatched my hand back the same time he slightly flinched away. I glanced at him, before averting my eyes.

"Sorry."

"You're hands are cold."

I awkwardly sat back next to him.

It was the Sunday before I had school. He was leaving tomorrow with his parents while I'd be in school so we decided we would spend his last day together. We'd been in his room, laying around on his bed and only leaving for food or to use the bathroom. It was bright out, the sun shining in from the open window the only indication it was afternoon; already past noon. It was peacefully silent except for the melodic chirping flowing from outside.

I decided to break the ice. "Never expected you to have a story like that in your back pocket."

"I don't have very many."

"You have others?"

"I'll tell you some other time." I decided to keep my doubts of there being a next time to myself.

"Have you talked to your parents about Parker?"

I flashed him a smile. "Yup. I told her in the car on the way home and she hit the brakes so hard, I think I have a bruise on my neck. She cried. She knows this has been our dream since day one."

"The others?"

"It's the same for us all. We've been really lucky when it comes to support from family and friends even if wasn't from the beginning."

Fang's forehead creased in confusion. "What do you mean?"

I sighed. "At first Gazzy's mom wasn't… approving. She felt Iggy and I were a bad influence on him and Angel and refused to let him join the band. Their mother was and still is very religious. She didn't appreciate Iggy's candor or my attitude. She has very strict morals and old fashioned views."

"Old fashioned how?"

"Women stay home and take care of the kids while the men make all the decisions type of old fashioned."

"How'd that work out?"

I snorted sarcastically. "I was basically everything she hated. It took months of him sneaking out and begging for her to come around. And it wasn't until we were at Iggy's practicing when she barged in like a bat outta hell. Gazzy was supposed to be home in his room studying for a test first thing on Monday morning. I guess she went into his room to ask if he was hungry but found an empty room instead of her son. She was livid and yelled at Angel until she caved and told her. She stormed over to Iggy's and screamed at all of us for "corrupting" her son."

Fang whistled. "What happened?"

"Gazzy happened. Until then, he'd never yelled, only pleaded and begged. But that day he lost it. He started screaming at her for disrespecting us. He was yelling everything at her. It was one of the few times we've seen him cry. He just wanted her to be happy for him, ya know? As soon as he started to tear up, he started throwing things everywhere until he was sobbing. Dylan ran to shield Gazzy's mom and Iggy wrestled the chair out of his arms. As soon as it was free, I hugged him from behind. Partially, to hold his arms but really it just hurt to see him like that and I didn't know what else to do. I think it was when she saw Iggy and I wiping his tears away and telling him no matter what happens, he'd always be a part of the band, a part of us, that I think it finally sank in for her.

"Her son was happy. Playing music, performing with us, it made him _happy._ She called his name and he looked up at her, with this hopelessly broken look on his face and she started crying. She held her hand out to him and the next thing I knew, he was in her arms crying over her apologies.

"Then the rest was history." I finished.

"Wow."

"Yeah, now she has to keep her insults to herself." I joked. He rolled his eyes at me before rolling over to lay on his back. I looked at him thoughtfully. I couldn't help but wonder why Fang hadn't told his family that he could sing or play.

"Fang, why didn't your parents know that you could sing?"

He tilted his head at my question. "I didn't think it mattered."

I scoffed. "You're _amazing._ How could you not think a voice like yours didn't matter?!"

Fang shrugged. "I lived in a mostly academic setting. Most of my time was spent on school."

"Did anybody know?"

"No."

I leaned back in disbelief. "I can't wrap my head around that. When did you sing?"

"Usually in my room. It wasn't really a secret, it just never came up. Didn't seem important."

"Well, if anybody needed a perfect example of stupidity that's it."

He nudged me with his foot. "Jerk."

"Fight me."

"You're ridiculous." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"I know you don't need any increase in your ego, but you really are talented. I'm glad people know you can sing, because it would be a waste of talent if it went unnoticed." I stretched out next to him.

"My ego is _not_ big."

"Ok, Mr. I-Can-Get-Any-Girl-I-Want-Because-I-Can-Sing-Like-An-Angel."

"I have never said that."

"But you were thinking it," I countered.

He shrugged. "I probably could."

I glared at him before pushing him off the bed. I laughed evilly before folding my arms behind my head.

 _Too easy._

"You do realize that is my bed."

"Is it? I thought it was mine." I said sarcastically.

"Get your facts straight. You live across the street."

"Get _your_ facts straight. You don't even live here."

He slid back onto the bed next to me. "True."

"So, why'd you get into it? Music, I mean."

Fang tucked an arm behind his head. "It'd always called out to me. At my school there was this shopping center I'd have to pass on my way home. There was this music store called Music Maxima. They had these guitars always hanging in the window and they looked really cool. It was actually where I bought my first guitar. I started with an acoustic, then built up to an electric."

I grinned. "When did you buy them?"

"I bought the acoustic just after I came to visit, the year before freshman year. I practiced all year and the next summer I bought an electric."

I whistled. "Wow. You've only had it for about a year or two. Dylan had his electric since he was little. It was his dad's and I guess it passed on to him. He's been practicing over the years but you're still better than him. How often did you practice?"

"Almost everyday before I would go to bed. Jonathan, the guy who owned the store, would give me lessons whenever we both had time to kill. Usually every other Saturday, I'd drop by the store and we'd play for a few hours and he's give me tips and pointers. He always said I was good but I guess I never believed it."

"Until we showered you with compliments?" I batted my eyelashes at him sarcastically.

He chuckled. "Pretty much."

An idea started to form in my head and I sat up eagerly. I turned to face and him and was almost jumping up and down from excitement.

"We should write a song together. As a going away present for me. Have you ever written a song?" He shook his head no.

"How about we write one together? As a parting gift for me?"

He raised any eyebrow. "How long does it take to write a song?"

"It depends."

"On?"

"How smooth the process goes. I've written songs in less than an hour. And it's barely noon we have the rest of the day to perfect the music. You in?"

He shrugged. "Why not?"

* * *

 **(This isn't Goodbye, it's BRB by We Are the In Crowd)**

 **(** Max, **Fang,** _Both)_

This isn't me  
And I hate what we've become  
This isn't my life  
And I don't know where it went wrong

 _Wait and see  
_ **We'll figure it out  
Then we'll skip this town  
You know you're better off with me**  
 _We've been broken for so long_

 _So we will drive as far as we know  
We've got but one mile to go  
This is our fight  
We can't break this time  
We've got all night  
_  
 **Well giving up is easy, you play it safe  
** You'll be a memory reminding me to learn from my mistakes  
 **Slow down keep an eye on what you're after  
** Face down with your back to the disaster  
 **No one said we ever had to change**

 _So we will drive as far as we know  
We've got but one mile to go  
This is our fight  
We can't break this time  
We've got all night  
_  
 _So we will drive as far as we know  
We've got but one mile to go  
This is our fight  
We can't break this time  
We've got all night  
_  
 **I take back everything  
** This isn't what you think  
We'll go right back to how _we were  
_ **You've got me in knots  
** (This isn't easy)  
 **Thinking that this is all you'd hope for.**  
 **I'd take it all back.**  
(There's nothing left to say)  
 **I'd take it all back.  
I'd take it all back.**

 _So we will drive as far as we know  
We've got but one mile to go  
This our fight  
We can't break this time  
We've got all night  
All night, whoa  
_  
 _So we will drive as far as we know  
We've got but one mile to go  
This is our fight  
We can't break this time  
We've got all night  
Yeah!  
We'll never know_

 **(End of Song)**

We sat facing each other, panting from the song, staring into each other's eyes. From this close, I could see his eyes were actually brown and had flecks of golden scattered throughout them. His expression was somber, but contemplative. His expression shifted slightly, his eyes lighting with some unseen emotion. My throat suddenly dried, and my tongue darted out to lick my lips.

I tilted my head, eyes remaining locked with his. "Have you ever wondered what things would be like if you had never moved?"

He nodded slowly. "Things would be different."

I smiled softly. "Understatement."

I ripped my eyes from his and nervously clutched the guitar between my sweaty palms. "Well, for starters, we would probably be best friends."

"We're best friends now," Fang said. I looked up shyly and smiled in agreement.

"We'd go to the same school. Maybe you would have helped me with my homework, because we all know science is the bane of my existence but the boon of yours. Oh! _Maybe_ you would have prevented me from thinking baggy jeans like Avril Lavigne were _so_ in and wearing them in middle school."

He laughed, his body shaking with laughter. "Oh, keep going."

"You probably would be friends with almost everybody because for some weird reason people seem to think you're _likeable._ Everybody would have known what an amazing singer you are earlier on, because of course I'd know and there is no way I would have kept my mouth shut about _that_. Maybe you would have been Nevermore's guitarist from day one."

"Maybe pigs fly." Fang offered. I laughed loudly before leaning back against the wall.

"Maybe a lot of things would be different." I whispered. But they'd never be different because this was reality and reality happened to be a stone cold bitch. The reality was that Fang was going back home tomorrow morning when I would remain here.

I didn't want to think about him leaving, but it was all I could seem to think about. I felt frustrated with myself and this whole situation. I didn't realize how much I had missed him. When he was gone, as horrible as it sounds, it gave me an excuse to not think about him. I pushed him into the corner of my mind where it didn't hurt that he wasn't here.

We'd been such good friends because we clicked. He understood me and I understood him. It wasn't hard to guess what the other was thinking and when we were younger we often had silent conversations in our heads as if we could communicate telepathically. We had so much in common, we could talk for hours on end about anything and everything. And when we didn't we'd debate until we eventually met in the middle.

You don't meet people like that everywhere.

"I wish things were different."

"Me too." I rested my head on his shoulder.

"I wonder why it's harder this time around." He whispered into my hair.

"It's probably because we haven't seen each other in so long." It had never been easy but now it felt like he was taking my leg with him. I could learn to live without it again, I just didn't _want_ to.

"It's selfish of me to want you to stay." I sighed and reached down to grab my songbook again.

"Is it selfish of me to want to stay?" I paused at his words. I gently shook my head no.

* * *

"It's getting late." Fang turned to look at the clock on his nightstand. It read eleven thirty.

"I know. I was waiting for your parents to come kick me out because I have school tomorrow but I guess they're being merciful and letting us have as much time as we can."

I sighed before sitting up on his bed. "I should go. Walk me out?"

He nodded before standing himself. We slowly trudged down the stairs and I waved to his parents before exiting the house. I breathed the night air in quiet contentedness. The only light that disturbed the darkness was the faint glow from the moon. I slowly turned to face him.

"So this is it, huh?" I kicked the toe of my shoe into the porch distractedly. I looked at him through my hair.

"It is." He gently brushed my hair out of my face before sliding it down around my neck to pull me into a hug.

"It was really nice to see you, Fangtard."

"I'll miss you." He held me for a second longer before stepping back.

The screen door opened. We both turned to see Fang's mom in the doorway

"Nick? Can you come in please? We want to talk to you."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I knew this was the time to say good-bye. I slowly stood, preparing for a quick getaway.

"Max, you can stay for this." She smiled at me before returning into the house. I stopped in surprise, looking at Fang.

He shrugged. _I don't know._

 _They're your parents!_ I narrowed my eyes at him.

 _Doesn't mean I know everything in their heads._ His brows scrunched together slightly, like he thought I was stupid.

 _But-_

 _Just shut up and get inside._ He pushed me through the doorway.

His parents sat waiting together on the couch, faces unreadable.

 _Well, I know where Fang got it,_ I thought dryly.

"We have some news for you. We haven't told you yet, because we weren't sure how you would take it… but now we are both sure, that this is the right choice."

"Your dad got another transfer."

You could hear a pin drop. "What?" Fang's eyebrows furrowed.

"Your dad was transferred."

"Where to?" Fang looked back and forth between them, confused.

"Here."

My heart stopped.

"H-Here?" I choked. They nodded.

"Yes. We weren't sure how you would take it. We know you loved this place as a kid, but we've made a new life in Arizona. You might not have grown up there, but you made friends and joined clubs, really settled. We didn't want to uproot you again." His mom looked to Mr. Ride.

"But...we've only been here a day and we can see how well you fit in. You made friends in Arizona, but what took you months there, took days here."

"Seeing you perform last night...Fang, you've looked the happiest we've seen you in ages. We didn't even know you could _sing._ Honey, you're amazing." His mom beamed at him, taking hold of her husband's hand.

"We couldn't take this from you."

"You start at Faireford High School tomorrow."

I was frozen in shock, until their words truly sank in. I burst to my feet, jumping up and down. I was yelling and shouting not entirely sure on what I was saying other than thank you, thank you, _thank you._ Fang was standing up with a big, full, smile with teeth and I jumped on him. His arms encircled my waist and lifted me into the air. I laughed in disbelief and sliding my hand up to cup the back of his head. I could feel my eyes watering and I squeezed them shut tightly.

Fang spun me around before gently setting me down.

My best friend wasn't leaving.


End file.
